A Bronx mother was returning home from buying groceries Monday evening when she saw a slew of police cars down the block. She told The New York Daily News she ran toward the yellow tape, trying to call her son’s phone but it never answered. The mother said bystanders and neighbors surrounding the scene looked at her with a “worried” expression.
Finally, police revealed the victim of the incident they were investigating was her son, 16-year-old Alberto “Amir” Roque.
Police said Roque was watching a group of men play dice outside a smoke shop on E. 162nd Street and 3rd Ave. The teen got into an argument with one of the men who suddenly pulled a gun and shot him in the middle of the street. The incident occurred just feet away from the NYPD’s 42nd Precinct, per the report.
Roque suffered a gunshot wound to the head. One witness told The Daily News he was foaming at the mouth when he was transported into the ambulance. He died at Lincoln Hospital the following morning.
When his mother, who declined to name herself, heard it was her son who was shot, she told The Daily News she dropped to the ground screaming in anguish. In just a moment, the boy who loved baseball, cycling, art and rescuing stray animals was gone. His mother said Roque was days away from finishing his junior year of charter school and was looking to go to college for engineering.
Most importantly, he had plans to get out of the crime-ridden neighborhood.
“He was sick of the gunshots, the fighting, he was scared for his brother,” his mother told The Daily News. “He was very wise and loved being around people who were older than him and liked listening to them. He always said intelligence is measured by the way you adapt to your surroundings.”
No arrests have been made in the shooting yet but the investigation remains ongoing.
Anyone with information related to this incident is asked to call the NYPD‘s Crime Stoppers hotline at 1–800–577–TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1–888–57–PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers‘ website or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577.