MOTT HAVEN, the Bronx (PIX11) — Four days after a grandfather who was sitting outside in a courtyard was struck by a stray bullet, which took his life, the family of Edgar Spence spoke out.
They called on both authorities and neighbors to do more to bring whoever is behind the fatal shooting to justice. Meanwhile, the NYPD said it’s aggressively pursuing the killer or killers.
On Monday morning, in the courtyard of the Mitchel Houses public housing complex, where Spence, 78, was killed, one of his sons, Michael Reid, joined community activists to call for justice.
“Our father, our grandfather, and our children’s great-grandfather didn’t deserve this,” Reid said about the loss of the family patriarch.
Spence had been in the courtyard at around 11 p.m. on Thursday, as he often was on pleasant evenings, when shots rang out after a group of young people got into some kind of dispute, according to Spence’s family members.
The gunfire resulted in Spence being struck in the abdomen by a bullet. He was pronounced dead at nearby Lincoln Hospital.
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In the days since the shooting, a memorial of flowers, balloons, candles, and other mementos is at the place where Edgar Spence suffered his mortal loss. Still, his family and local activists are not necessarily pleased.
“The balloons, the candles, that’s amazing,” said Reid, his son, “but someone that probably put a balloon there probably knew who did this.”
“Snitching is a bad word,” Reid continued, “but tell,” he said, urging people to come forward with information. “Change the word to ‘tell.’”
Reid and his fellow family members, who’d come to the late morning news conference, said that they were pleased with one of the main reasons it had been called in the first place: a reward, announced by community activist Rev. Kevin McCall.
“I’m putting up a $5,000 reward,” McCall announced, “for any information leading to the arrest and conviction.”
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He said that he’s doing all he can to get information about the crime that has deeply impacted a family and their community.
Reid said that he’d come from his home in Richmond, Virginia, to his father’s home in the South Bronx to try and ensure that the city was paying adequate attention to the case.
He said that aspects of the investigation were lacking.
“The mayor’s office,” he said, “He hasn’t said anything.”
For its part, the city said, through an NYPD spokesperson, that they’re on the trail of the suspects.
Investigators, the department said, have been doing an “extensive surveillance canvass throughout the neighborhood to access footage and piece together the events of evening, [doing] extensive social media monitoring, [and] sending the Crimestoppers van to the general vicinity of the area to help generate tips.”
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Spence’s family also said that residents of their loved one’s community need to do the right thing, as well.
“Someone knows what happened,” Reid said, “and we would like to know.”
Rev. McCall said that on Tuesday, he’ll host a vigil for Edgar Spence, with New York Attorney General Letitia James attending, along with New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, and Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clarke.
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