In the early morning hours of a summer day in the Bronx, a young man's life was tragically cut short. Twenty-two-year-old Alberto DeJesus was fatally shot in the lobby of an apartment building at 1044 Avenue Saint John on Sunday, June 30, 2019. Responding to a 1:27 a.m. call, police discovered DeJesus with multiple gunshot wounds. He was rushed to Lincoln Hospital, where he was pronounced deceased.
The investigation into the shooting revealed that the incident stemmed from a prior
dispute that did not involve DeJesus. Earlier that morning, a fight had broken out near a food truck on Southern Boulevard and East 149th Street. After the altercation dispersed, one of the individuals involved, Tujuan Ford, proceeded to the apartment building on Avenue Saint John. DeJesus, who had been present with the group but was not part of the initial conflict, had also gone to the building. It was there that Ford opened fire, striking DeJesus. The attack was captured on surveillance video, showing DeJesus collapsing in the lobby.
In the days following the shooting, family and friends gathered to mourn the loss of a man they described as having an aura that could light up a room. His mother remembered his love for boxing and his ambition to join the Air Force. A wake was held at the Ortiz Funeral Home, where attendees wore white shirts bearing his name and image. In a poignant gesture, the Air Force provided his family with a uniform, dog tags, and American flags for his burial.
The New York Police Department quickly identified a suspect in the case. Tujuan Ford, also 22 years old at the time, was arrested and charged with murder and criminal possession of a weapon. In September 2022, Ford pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter. Subsequently, a Bronx Supreme Court Justice sentenced him to 21 years in prison, followed by five years of post-release supervision.
