He labored his shift at Pizza Palace in Manhattan’s Inwood neighborhood late Sunday. He baked pies, took orders and chatted with prospects. At closing time, he bid his co-workers farewell and headed for his house within the Bronx, strolling a number of blocks to the Bx12 bus cease, passing shiny bodegas and clumps of litter on the best way.
However the man, Alejandro Ramirez, by no means received to the cease. He made it only some blocks earlier than he was fatally shot within the chest.
Mr. Ramirez, 45, was certainly one of two individuals killed in a taking pictures at West 207th Avenue and tenth Avenue round 11:40 p.m. on Father’s Day; one other Bronx man, Michael James, 44, was fatally shot, within the face and torso. A 3rd sufferer, a 37-year previous man, was wounded within the leg. A 16-year-old was arrested within the shootings, for which police haven’t given a motive.
The variety of shootings throughout New York Metropolis has dropped in contrast with final 12 months, however that was little comfort for a neighborhood shaken by the Father’s Day taking pictures, and for a metropolis girding for summer season’s conventional enhance in gun violence.
Mr. Ramirez, remembered in social media posts as a pleasant face, left a legacy as a sort soul. Within the days after his demise, memorials in his title sprang up round Inwood, prompting individuals to cease on the sight of his photograph surrounded by candles.
“The pizza store is house for lots of us,” stated Katherine Mota, who got here to a vigil for Mr. Ramirez on Friday evening that drew scores of mourners. “I misplaced a member of the family.”
Though he lived within the Bronx with a roommate, Mr. Ramirez had been a well-known presence in Inwood since he was 18. Earlier than working at Pizza Palace, he had labored at a bodega within the neighborhood, and many individuals knew him from there. He had separated from his spouse years in the past and had grown other than his son. Co-workers and prospects at Pizza Palace had turn out to be his second household.
Neighbors trickled out and in of the restaurant this week, providing condolences and prayers and sharing tales about Mr. Ramirez.
Jennifer Rodriguez, 50, grew up in Inwood and had recognized Mr. Ramirez for years. He was, Ms. Rodriguez stated, always chatting with prospects, and keenly attuned to the humorous aspect of neighborhood life.
Mr. Ramirez knew Ms. Rodriguez’s kids, grandchildren and many of the remainder of her household. After her twin brother died, she stated, Mr. Ramirez all the time checked in on her. Within the aftermath of Mr. Ramirez’s killing, she stated she felt echoes of her personal loss locally’s outpouring of affection and help.
Mr. Ramirez’s colleagues described him as a tough employee who all the time appeared to have a smile on his face. To them, he was somebody you wished to shoot the breeze with over a few beers even after spending many of the day collectively in a busy, sizzling kitchen.
“All people could be very saddened and feels horrible in regards to the information,” stated Panagiotis Kakanas, an proprietor of Pizza Palace. “He was an ideal man. He’s positively going to be missed.”
Mr. Ramirez’s son, Alex, stated that regardless that he and his father had not spoken in years, he was purchasing for a burial plot Friday. Mr. Ramirez often known as his mom to verify he was OK. For that, Alex Ramirez holds him in excessive regard.
“He was an ideal man,” Alex Ramirez, 25, stated. “He was somebody who didn’t have to be misplaced, taken away from us.”
The deadly assault was a uncommon occasion, and never simply in New York. Nationally, homicides are down in contrast with final 12 months. And the 465 individuals shot within the metropolis this 12 months, fatally or not, represents a 5.9 p.c lower in contrast with the identical interval in 2023.
However summer season in New York typically brings a spike in violence. And within the 28 days earlier than Friday, there have been 44 p.c extra taking pictures victims within the metropolis in contrast with the identical interval final 12 months.
Christopher Herrmann, an affiliate professor at John Jay School of Felony Justice, known as the bounce a “large pink flag.”
The origin of the late-night burst of violence that killed Mr. Ramirez stays unknown.
Surveillance footage from a tenth Avenue retailer confirmed a person in a black hoodie and sneakers stroll previous a number of individuals in entrance of a nook retailer simply after 11:30 p.m. Sunday and start to argue with certainly one of them, in accordance with courtroom papers. The person then pulled out a pistol, pointing it at one of many individuals and tried to fireside. The group scattered, and the gunman additionally ran off.
Lower than 10 minutes later, video from the identical digital camera confirmed the hooded man reappear on the intersection of West 206th Avenue and tenth Avenue, whip out his gun and fireplace 4 rounds.
After being shot, Mr. Ramirez hobbled to a close-by restaurant looking for assist. His roommate, Geraldo Cruz, 49, works there and noticed his buddy knocking on the glass. One other employee opened the door to convey him inside they usually tried to assist him whereas somebody known as 911.
Mr. Cruz, tears in his eyes, recalled Mr. Ramirez’s remaining moments as blood spilled from his physique and he muttered, “They shot me.” He nonetheless had a pulse when an ambulance took him away, Mr. Cruz stated. Mr. Ramirez was pronounced lifeless at a hospital.
On Wednesday, the police arrested 16-year-old from the Bronx, and charged him with two counts of second-degree homicide and two second-degree counts of legal possession of a weapon. It was unclear whether or not Mr. Figueroa and the lads who had been shot knew each other, the police stated.
On the vigil on Friday, individuals crowded round Pizza Palace to pay tribute to Mr. Ramirez. The small sea of neighbors got here in orange and white apparel and lit candles, and heard a sermon delivered in Spanish that talked about exhausting work and kindness.
“Let the gates of Heaven open for Alex, as a result of with that smile, instantly, it ought to,” Ms. Mota stated.
After the ceremony, Alex Ramirez stated he regretted not having spoken to his father for thus lengthy. Now, he stated, he would cherish endlessly the phrases they did communicate.
