Demitri Dayshawn Dick, 24, was trying ahead to beginning his new job at Capital Preparatory Bronx Constitution Faculty when he was fatally shot within the head after entering into an argument with three males close to Debs Place and Dreiser Loop in Co-op Metropolis round 7 p.m. on Aug 12.
Medics rushed Dick to Jacobi Medical Heart, the place he died three days later, his household mentioned.
Dick “was passionate about being a role model for young Black men, and his career reflected this commitment,” his cousin Gisell Bennet mentioned, delivering the eulogy at his funeral.
“He encouraged others to pursue education, complete college and strive for greatness. He dreamed of becoming a spokesperson, a leader and a voice for change. In many ways, he had already stepped into that role.”
Two weeks earlier than his dying, Dick had accepted a job as an eighth-grade science instructor at “his dream school,” Bennet mentioned.
“He came in and he swept us away,” his new boss, Simone Hartley-Brooks, principal of Capital Preparatory Faculty, mentioned at his funeral. “He’s intelligent, passionate. I saw in him someone that we needed in our school for young boys, someone that would have left a lifelong impression on them, someone that they needed,” she mentioned. “He will be missed.”
Dick’s girlfriend of three years is pregnant and because of give beginning in December, in keeping with Dick’s obituary.
“The little family they created will forever be a living testament to the love they shared,” the obituary reads. “Demitri’s greatest joy came from the love he gave and received. He was a devoted family man — a provider, a protector and a man with the biggest heart.”
Dick graduated from Fordham College in 2023 with a bachelor’s diploma in political science and was pursuing increased training on the time of his dying. Fordham College confirmed his undergraduate diploma and mentioned that he had accomplished coursework on the Gabelli Faculty of Enterprise over the summer time.
“Our community is heartbroken by this tragic loss, and our thoughts and prayers are with the student’s family and loved ones,” Fordham mentioned in a press release.
Along with his ardour for training, Dick beloved sports activities and was a gifted athlete. He was a large receiver on his highschool soccer workforce at Mount Saint Michael Academy. He had been a instructor for 3 years on the time of his dying. He additionally beloved video video games, vehicles, meals and style, in keeping with his obituary.
“Good food, impeccable fashion and cars were three of Demitri’s greatest joys,” Bennet mentioned. “He never turned down a plate of curry shrimp or perfectly fried chicken. His love for cars was undeniable.”
It was not instantly clear what the argument was about that led to the tip of his life. The killers ran off after the capturing and haven’t but been discovered, in keeping with police.
Dick’s dying is certainly one of a number of tragic cases of gun violence which have ripped via the Bronx this summer time.
After 5 murders in six days, plus a number of extra folks wounded, Mayor Eric Adams on Aug. 28 introduced the deployment of 1,000 further cops to the Bronx.
4 days earlier, a mass capturing had erupted inside a Bronx park throughout a basketball event, leaving one man useless, a teen woman clinging to life and three others injured. Greater than 60 bullets have been fired round 7:25 p.m. at Haffen Park in Baychester, putting Jaceil Banks, 32, within the chest and Anthonaya Campbell, 17, within the head.
Medics rushed each victims to Jacobi Medical Heart, the place Banks died and Campbell was listed in important situation with a bullet lodged behind her eye. Police arrested 4 suspects in that capturing, two of them minors.
Regardless of the borough’s beefed-up police presence, the violence continued on Labor Day, when one man was killed and 4 males have been wounded when 4 shooters opened fireplace on a bunch exterior an Allerton smoke store. 5 suspects, the youngest 16, have been arrested and are dealing with homicide expenses.
The Bronx has seen extra shootings up to now this 12 months than Manhattan, Queens and Staten Island mixed.
A couple of third of all murders within the metropolis this 12 months — 69 out of 206 — occurred within the Bronx. Regardless of the violence, the Bronx has seen a 19% drop in shootings up to now this 12 months in comparison with final 12 months, right down to 178 versus 220 folks hit by gunfire by the tip of August.
