Police are searching for a suspect in the murder of an unarmed man who was chased into a brownstone on a tree-lined block in Brooklyn yesterday.

The suspect is sought in the death of Lawrence Sumpter, 37, who was shot three times, twice in the buttocks and once in the stomach, in broad daylight blocks from Pratt Institute, police officials said.

The incident occurred just before noon yesterday, when the suspect allegedly shot at least two rounds at the victim in the middle of the street. Sumpter ran for cover into a brownstone on Clifton Place in Fort Greene that was undergoing renovations. The suspect followed and fired at him at least two more times on the first floor of the building before fleeing the brownstone, police officials said.

A craftsman working in the brownstone was the first to find the victim’s body. Sam Saliman, who was installing a door on the second floor, had fled to the basement after hearing the initial shots.

“I went upstairs and saw the guy,” Mr. Saliman said. “He looked dead.”

Mr. Saliman said police arrived at the house within 10 minutes. The victim was rushed to Brooklyn Hospital, where he later died. City detectives spent the morning interviewing witnesses in the neighborhood. While they had a description of the suspect, the motive was unclear, a police source said.

Sumpter, who according to a neighbor said ran a window installation business, had been raised in the neighborhood but moved away several years ago.