{"id":357372,"date":"2026-09-26T04:12:59","date_gmt":"2026-09-26T04:12:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/357372\/"},"modified":"2026-09-26T04:12:59","modified_gmt":"2026-09-26T04:12:59","slug":"gunman-who-killed-beloved-barber-outside-queens-strip-club-wanted-victims-cuban-bracelet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/357372\/","title":{"rendered":"Gunman who killed beloved barber outside Queens strip club wanted victim’s Cuban bracelet"},"content":{"rendered":"

The masked suspect who fatally shot<\/a> a beloved barber while trying to steal his handmade Miami Cuban bracelet outside a Queens strip club ran off empty-handed, but left those who knew the victim with an unfathomable hole in their hearts.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just want to know the truth about what happened,\u201d said Edwin Cabrera, victim Hector Figuereo\u2019s childhood friend and the owner of Fresh on 4th Barbershop in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, where Hector worked.<\/p>\n

Figuereo, 45, was killed three days before his birthday this Sunday, Cabrera noted.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt makes no sense,\u201d he told the Daily News.<\/p>\n

\"PolicePolice released surveillance video images of a suspect in the deadly shooting outside Riviera Gentleman\u2019s Club on Steinway St. in Astoria on Thursday, September 24, 2026. They also released an image of a white Mercedes-Benz SUV they said he used to flee the scene. (NYPD)<\/p>\n

When his mother identified Hector\u2019s body at the hospital, she had a \u201cmini heart attack\u201d and needed to be admitted to the hospital herself, Cabrera said.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow she don\u2019t have nobody,\u201d he said mournfully.<\/p>\n

Figuereo was shot in the back by a robber who approached him from behind and demanded his bracelet outside Riviera Gentleman\u2019s Club<\/a> on Steinway St. near 34th Ave. in Astoria about 3:50 a.m. on Thursday, according to police.<\/p>\n

Medics rushed Figuereo to Elmhurst Hospital, where he died.<\/p>\n

\"HectorHector Figuereo (pictured) was fatally shot in the back at Riviera Gentleman\u2019s Club on Steinway St. near 34th Ave. in Astoria, Queens, on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026.<\/p>\n

After shooting Figuereo, the gunman, who was wearing a hooded green Nike Tech sweatsuit, ran off empty-handed and fled north on 37th St. in a white Mercedes-Benz SUV, police said.<\/p>\n

Cops on Friday released surveillance footage of the hooded suspect, in the hopes someone recognizes him.<\/p>\n

Figuereo lived in Sunset Park with his mother, who he had been caring for ever since his father died from cancer a few years ago, friends said.<\/p>\n

On the night of the murder, Figuereo was out celebrating the birthday of a mutual friend, according to Cabrera. The bracelet the gunman tried to snatch was a handmade Miami Cuban link bracelet that Figuereo wore frequently, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a thousand people in (clubs) with Cuban link chains,\u201d he said, noting that because the bracelet was handmade it was \u201cvery valuable.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a famous link that a lot of people look at, and they like it,\u201d he said. \u201cYou can tell from a mile away.\u201d<\/p>\n

While he enjoyed wearing the bracelet, Figuereo \u201cwas never flashy\u201d during work, Cabrera said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe used to make fun of him,\u201d his friend recalled. \u201cHow you wearing things from 1999? And he was like, \u2018This is how I do so (people) don\u2019t think I got things.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Cabrera last saw his friend just hours before he was murdered. \u201cHe was cutting hair. Regular normal day,\u201d he recalled.<\/p>\n

When a detective told him the next day that Figuereo was dead, he didn\u2019t believe it.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce he told me that, I started bawling,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s no way that this happened!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody loved him,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Hundreds of Figuereo\u2019s friends and customers showed up at the Sunset Park barbershop Thursday night to pay respects to the slain hairstylist.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis place was packed,\u201d Cabrera recalled. \u201cNo lie.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201dWe did a lighting for him,\u201d he said. \u201cEverybody was having an emotional, good time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c(He was a) very good person. Family person,\u201d added a neighbor who would only identify himself as Harvey, 59. \u201cHe stepped up to the plate to take care of (his mother).\u201d<\/p>\n

The outpouring of grief and love for Figuereo continued on social media, with many friends posting heartfelt tributes.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo know that someone I cared about so deeply was taken from this world through such a senseless act<\/a> is heartbreaking,\u201d Figuereo\u2019s longtime pal, Sam Lebron, wrote in a tribute posted to Facebook.<\/p>\n

\"PolicePolice released surveillance video images of a suspect in the deadly shooting outside Riviera Gentleman\u2019s Club on Steinway St. in Astoria on Thursday, September 24, 2026. They also released an image of a white Mercedes-Benz SUV they said he used to flee the scene. (NYPD)<\/p>\n

\u201cHis presence touched more people than he probably ever realized. As a barber, he had a way of connecting with people-not just through his craft, but through the conversations, friendships, and relationships built in the chair,\u201d Lebron continued. \u201cI\u2019m struggling to accept that I\u2019ll never get to see him, talk to him, laugh with him, or simply know that he\u2019s out there doing what he loved.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another friend, Lizette Gonzalez-Ruiz, described Figuereo as \u201ckind, genuine, and someone I will always remember with love,\u201d in a Facebook post.<\/p>\n

\"PolicePolice investigate after a 45-year-old man was fatally shot at Riviera Gentleman\u2019s Club on Steinway St. near 34th Ave. in Astoria, Queens, on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026. (Theodore Parisienne \/ New York Daily News)<\/p>\n

The strip club\u2019s manager, who gave his name as Diego, told The News Thursday that he was not convinced the slaying stemmed from a simple crime of opportunity because the gunman had waited for the victim inside the club.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe way they just came in and were waiting for somebody like that, it has to be very personal,\u201d the manager said.<\/p>\n

\"HectorHector Figuereo (pictured) was fatally shot in the back at Riviera Gentleman\u2019s Club on Steinway St. near 34th Ave. in Astoria, Queens, on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026.<\/p>\n

Surveillance images released by police show the gunman aiming his weapon as well as sitting outside the club, looking at his phone.<\/p>\n

\"WhatWhat appears to be blood is pictured splattered on a glass door after a 45-year-old man was fatally shot at Riviera Gentleman’s Club on Steinway St. near 34th Ave. in Astoria, Queens, on Thursday. (Theodore Parisienne \/ New York Daily News)<\/p>\n

Anyone with information about the slaying or the suspect is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential.<\/p>\n

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