On a summer evening in York, Pennsylvania, the lives of two brothers were tragically cut short in a burst of gunfire. Angel Luis Berrios Jr., a 21-year-old Hispanic man, and his 19-year-old brother, Abdiel 'Tito' Vazquez-Soto, were the victims of a drive-by shooting on June 12, 2015. The brothers were sitting in a parked SUV at the intersection of Jefferson Avenue and Juniper Street when another vehicle pulled alongside them and opened fire.
In a desperate attempt to escape the assault,
Berrios, who was behind the wheel, drove away from the scene. However, succumbing to his injuries, he crashed the SUV into a telephone pole just a couple of blocks away, at the corner of North Newberry Street and Madison Avenue. When emergency services arrived, they found Angel Luis Berrios Jr. deceased inside the vehicle. His brother, Abdiel, was rushed to York Hospital but tragically died from his injuries in the early hours of the following morning. A third passenger in the vehicle sustained only minor injuries. The York County Coroner's Office later confirmed that both brothers had died from gunshot wounds to the chest.
The investigation that followed pointed to a violent and ongoing gang feud as the motive behind the killings. In August 2015, police arrested 19-year-old Durell Cotton Jr. in connection with the murders of the two brothers, as well as the 2013 killing of 21-year-old Jordan Breeland. Cotton was charged with three counts of criminal homicide and aggravated assault and was held in York County Prison without bail. Another man, 21-year-old Elvin Mateo Jr., was also charged in connection with Breeland's death, highlighting the intertwined nature of the gang violence that had claimed multiple lives in the community.
The sudden and violent deaths of Angel and Abdiel left their family and the wider community in a state of shock and grief. In the days following the tragedy, friends and community members rallied around the bereaved family. A GoFundMe page was established to help cover the significant funeral expenses for the two young men, which were estimated to be around $12,000. Grace Fellowship Church also joined in the fundraising efforts, and an anonymous local business owner from Hanover made a generous donation of $6,000 to support the family during their time of immense sorrow. The brothers, who left behind seven siblings, were remembered in a joint funeral service as the community mourned the senseless loss of two of its own.
