A 23-year-old New York native who moved to Washington, DC to volunteer for an organization that helps high school students was shot and killed during an attempted robbery in the nation’s capital last week, police and loved ones said.
Recent college graduate Ryan Realbuto was fatally shot Thursday around 10 p.m. when an armed suspect demanded money as he and two friends walked home from a youth gathering at a church, according to family.
“As they were walking, a car pulled up, the man asked for money, a person got out of the car, and when no one took out cash, the person shot Ryan,” his aunt wrote in a verified GoFundMe page.
Realbuto was rushed to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead, DC Metro police said.
“Ryan is very passionate about doing any kind of community service,” his aunt wrote.
“He was not motivated to make a large amount of money, but instead prospered because he was able to help people in need,” he said. “Ryan has a gentle soul and is a good human being filled with nothing but innocence.”
Ryan Realbuto is remembered as a young man who loved to volunteer and help others. Facebook
The victim is from the village of Pittsford, a suburb of Rochester, and is a 2023 graduate of the University of St. Bonaventure. He has been in DC for six months and works with the Franciscan Capuchin Volunteer Corps.
He volunteered at Maryland-based Don Bosco Cristo Rey High School, where he helped at-risk students in a work-study program, his family said.
Realbuto and other volunteers receive a small monthly stipend each month while living in communal housing, her family said.
“It’s like a nightmare you can’t imagine,” her mother Janet Realbuto, 62, told the Washington Post.
The New York native had been living in DC for about six months after graduating from college. GoFundMe
“I really pray they find whoever did this. He is the gentlest, kindest, most loving person. For someone to walk up and pull a gun on him for no reason is beyond my world.”
Police are offering $25,000 for anyone who can provide information about the case that leads to an arrest.
Washington has been beset by rising crime with murders up 35% and robberies up 67% between 2022 and 2023, according to police data.
The volunteer corps program director, Margaret McIntyre-Stacy, said the gunman did not take anything from Realbuto or his friend.
“They didn’t take anything of value, except the most valuable thing,” he said.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
