They Stayed Home to Avoid Immigration Raids — Then Their Brooklyn Apartment Building Collapsed, Taking a Father, His Daughter and Young Cousin

BROOKLYN, NEW YORK — A Colombian father who reportedly spent much of his time indoors because he feared being detained by federal immigration agents lost his life alongside his 9-year-old daughter and 10-year-old cousin when their apartment building suddenly collapsed in Brooklyn. The family had come to America hoping for a safer, more prosperous future. Instead, the place they considered their refuge became the scene of an unimaginable tragedy.

The devastating collapse occurred shortly after 4 p.m. on Wednesday, November 11, 2026, at 1321 Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn’s Flatbush neighborhood.

Eight people lost their lives, including two children, while 18 others were injured.

Among the victims were 31-year-old Juan Daniel Sabala, his 9-year-old daughter Nicole Daniela, and their 10-year-old relative Kevin Santiago Reyes Gonzalez.

The tragedy has drawn national attention not only because of the scale of the destruction, but also because of the deeply personal circumstances surrounding the family’s life in New York.

According to a relative interviewed by Gothamist, the Colombian family had increasingly avoided going outside except when necessary for work.

They were concerned about encounters with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and the possibility of deportation.

Their apartment had become a place where they hoped to feel secure.

On Veterans Day, when the family was home, that sense of security vanished as the building collapsed into an adjacent construction site.

A Family Pursuing the American Dream

Juan Daniel Sabala had arrived in the United States from Colombia approximately three or four years earlier, according to his cousin Juan Carlos Zabala.

Like many immigrant families, he had hoped to build a more stable future through employment and opportunities in New York.

He worked for a cleaning company while supporting his wife and two young daughters.

The family lived in a modest apartment in Brooklyn, where they attempted to establish a new life far from their home country.

But relatives said the couple had become increasingly concerned about immigration enforcement.

Juan Carlos Zabala, who lives in Spain, told Gothamist that his cousin had expressed anxiety during their recent conversations.

According to Zabala, the couple had begun limiting their time outdoors because they feared being stopped by federal immigration officers.

Their routine had become simple: leave home for work, return home afterward and avoid unnecessary outings.

The cousin described their concerns as serious enough to affect everyday decisions.

The family’s precise immigration status has not been publicly established, and there is no verified indication that Juan Daniel Sabala was personally being sought by immigration authorities.

Nevertheless, the fear described by his relative was a significant part of how the family approached daily life.

Ironically, the apartment where they spent so much time seeking security became the location of the disaster.

A Veterans Day Afternoon Ends in Catastrophe

Wednesday, November 11, was Veterans Day, a federal holiday in the United States.

According to Juan Carlos Zabala, the family was home when the building collapsed.

At approximately 4 p.m., the three-story mixed-use structure on Flatbush Avenue suddenly gave way.

The collapse sent debris into an adjoining excavation site and damaged part of a neighboring building.

Walls were torn away, exposing rooms and belongings that only moments earlier had been part of people’s homes.

Emergency calls quickly brought firefighters, police officers and medical personnel to the scene.

Rescue workers arrived to find a large pile of rubble where the building had stood.

Authorities immediately began searching for anyone trapped beneath the debris.

The operation continued through the night and into Thursday.

By the time firefighters completed their work, officials had confirmed eight fatalities.

Six people were pronounced dead at the scene, while two others died after being taken to hospitals.

Eighteen people were injured, including four firefighters.

The victims included residents of the collapsed building and workers associated with the nearby construction site.

A Father, His Little Girl and a Young Cousin

Three of those who lost their lives belonged to the same extended Colombian family.

Juan Daniel Sabala was 31.

His daughter Nicole was only 9.

Their relative Kevin Santiago Reyes Gonzalez was 10.

The children’s names were among those released by the New York Police Department following the disaster.

Official records identify the father as Juan Daniel Salvada Guzman and his daughter as Nicole Daniela Salvada Rodriguez, while family reporting uses the surname Sabala. The differing names appear in published accounts of the same family and should not be treated as separate victims.

The news devastated relatives living outside the United States.

Speaking from Spain, Juan Carlos Zabala struggled to explain what his family was experiencing.

He said they had pursued the American dream, hoping for a better life.

Now, he was confronting the loss of relatives who had left Colombia with such high expectations.

He had been planning to visit them in December.

Instead, he was receiving news of their passing and trying to understand the circumstances of the disaster.

His grief reflected the uncertainty that many immigrant families experience when relatives live in different countries.

For Juan Carlos, the distance made the tragedy especially painful.

He could not simply travel across town to comfort his relatives.

He was receiving updates from abroad while trying to process the loss.

Mother and Younger Daughter Survive

Although Juan Daniel and Nicole lost their lives, two other members of their immediate family survived the collapse.

According to Juan Carlos Zabala, Juan Daniel’s wife and their 3-year-old daughter were hospitalized after the disaster.

As of Friday, November 13, the mother was receiving intensive medical care.

The young daughter had also survived and was receiving treatment.

Their survival provided a measure of hope amid the family’s devastating loss.

However, the extent of their injuries and long-term medical outlook had not been fully detailed in the initial reporting.

For the surviving mother, the circumstances were especially heartbreaking.

She had lost her husband and older daughter while also facing the physical and emotional consequences of being caught in the collapse.

The surviving child, only 3 years old, had lost her father and older sister.

Their recovery will be an important concern for relatives in the weeks ahead.

The family has asked for compassion as they confront the tragedy.

Investigators Examine Construction Work Beside the Building

As families mourn, investigators are examining whether excavation work at the neighboring property contributed to the collapse.

The building at 1321 Flatbush Avenue stood beside a construction site at 2625 Bedford Avenue, where workers were excavating for a planned development.

City officials confirmed that the project had active excavation and foundation permits.

However, questions have emerged about the structural protections provided for neighboring buildings.

Records reviewed by Gothamist and the New York Post indicated that the approved excavation plans did not require the same type of steel reinforcement along the collapsed building as at some other sections of the site.

Engineers have expressed differing views about whether those plans provided adequate protection.

One expert questioned the lack of additional structural support, while another explained that steel reinforcement is not always necessary if excavation is performed correctly.

The precise cause of the collapse remains under investigation.

Residents Reported Shaking Before the Disaster

The investigation has also focused on accounts from neighbors who reported vibrations and shaking associated with nearby construction.

Some residents said they had noticed disturbing movements in surrounding structures before the collapse.

Their accounts have raised questions about whether warning signs were recognized and addressed.

City records also show previous enforcement actions at the neighboring construction site.

Earlier in 2026, officials issued a stop-work order involving demolition-related safety concerns.

Inspectors later found that work had continued despite the restriction, resulting in a financial penalty.

The order was eventually lifted after corrective measures were reported.

Following the November 11 collapse, the Department of Buildings issued a new full stop-work order.

Officials have begun a comprehensive review of the construction records, site conditions and structural engineering decisions.

New York City authorities are also examining other projects connected to companies involved in the development.

The Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office is investigating whether any criminal conduct contributed to the tragedy.

No final legal determination of responsibility has been announced.

Eight Lives Lost, Including Two Children

The victims came from different backgrounds and communities, reflecting the diverse population of Brooklyn.

New York authorities identified eight people who died in the collapse, ranging in age from 9 to 31.

Alongside Juan Daniel Sabala and the two children were Gabriel Siguencia, 22; Barry Mamadou, 23; Jose Luis Caguana Cosquillo, 26; Edgar Sapon, 26; and Ndiaye Mamadou, 31.

Two victims were construction workers at the neighboring site.

Among them was Jose Luis Caguana Cosquillo, an Ecuadorian worker whose wife was expecting their second child.

He also left behind a young child.

His relatives described a hardworking man devoted to his family.

For the families of all eight victims, the disaster brought sudden and irreversible loss.

The tragedy also displaced residents who survived the collapse but could no longer return to their homes.

The American Red Cross established emergency assistance services for affected households, including temporary accommodation and support accessing essential resources.

A Community Demands Answers

The building collapse has prompted wider questions about construction oversight and the protection of residents living near major development projects.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani described the tragedy as devastating and pledged a thorough investigation.

Officials said inspectors would examine not only the collapsed building and its neighboring construction site, but also other properties associated with the companies involved.

For residents, those commitments represent an important first step.

Many want to know whether the collapse could have been prevented.

They are asking whether excavation safeguards were sufficient, whether reports of shaking should have prompted further intervention and whether regulatory oversight adequately protected the people living nearby.

These questions will require engineering analysis, documentary evidence and findings from investigators.

Until that work is complete, it would be premature to assign definitive responsibility.

But the loss of eight lives has made the need for answers urgent.

A Family Who Sought Safety at Home

For Juan Carlos Zabala, the tragedy carries a particularly painful irony.

His cousin had traveled from Colombia with hopes of creating a better life.

The family worked, raised children and tried to establish a future in New York.

According to Zabala, growing concerns about immigration enforcement had increasingly kept them inside their apartment.

Their home had become the place where they believed they could avoid unwanted attention and remain together.

On November 11, that refuge was destroyed.

Juan Daniel lost his life at 31.

His daughter Nicole was only 9.

Their young cousin Kevin was 10.

And a surviving mother and toddler were left recovering from injuries while facing the loss of people central to their family.

Zabala told Gothamist that he understood the uncertainty of living outside one’s home country.

He, too, was an immigrant living abroad.

His family had crossed borders in pursuit of opportunity, hoping their sacrifices would produce a better future.

Instead, they were confronting a tragedy that no one had anticipated.

The American Dream Interrupted

For the surviving relatives, the coming weeks will bring difficult challenges.

They must arrange funerals, support those recovering in the hospital and determine how to move forward after losing three members of the same extended family.

The wider community is also grieving the other five victims and supporting residents displaced by the disaster.

Meanwhile, investigators continue examining the structural failure and whether failures in construction practices or oversight contributed.

Those findings may eventually provide answers about how the building collapsed.

But they cannot undo the human loss.

A father who had reportedly limited his family’s time outdoors because he feared immigration enforcement lost his life inside the very home where he believed they would be safer.

His 9-year-old daughter and 10-year-old cousin died alongside him.

What remains is a grieving family, a devastated Brooklyn neighborhood and an urgent demand to understand how eight lives were lost in an ordinary apartment building on a November afternoon.

The disaster has exposed serious questions about building safety.

It has also revealed a deeply human story about immigration, uncertainty and the search for security.

For Juan Daniel Sabala and his family, the American dream was supposed to represent a future of opportunity.

Instead, their story has become one of the most heartbreaking chapters of Brooklyn’s November 2026 building collapse.