New York teen arrested in triple shooting that left two dead, including beloved pizza maker

A teenager has been arrested in connection with a triple shooting in Manhattan that left two people dead — including a beloved pizzeria employee remembered as a “very, very good person.”

The US Marshals Service arrested the 16-year-old suspected shooter – who law enforcement sources say has no criminal history – at an apartment complex on Mosholu Parkway in the Bronx around 7:15 p.m. Tuesday, according to police and law enforcement sources.

Authorities charged him with two counts of second-degree murder and two weapons possession charges, police said.

It is still unclear what led to the shooting, or whether the suspected shooter knew his victims, according to the New York Police Department.

The two men who died — Alejandro Ramirez, 45, and Michael James, 44, both of the Bronx — were shot to death around 11:45 p.m. Sunday near West 207th Street and 10th Avenue in Inwood.

EMS workers transported both men to local hospitals in critical condition, officers said, but neither survived.

Community members mourned Ramirez's death Wednesday and fondly remember him as the smiling counter at Johnny's Pizza on Dyckman Street who always gave food to anyone who was hungry.

“My daughter and I cried for him — he was a very, very good person,” neighbor Dielka Sanchez told the Post. “Whether you had money or not, he always gave you the pizza. He used to say: “My friend, don't worry!

“It’s very sad,” she continued. “I told my daughter things were too bad, I could move.”

Several teenagers told the same story, calling Ramirez a “good man” as they gazed at the makeshift, candlelit memorial created in his honor.

“He would provide us with pizza, even when we had no money,” one of the children said.

A man named Diego, who owns a liquor store on Dyckman, added that Ramirez would come in and buy drinks for the pizzeria's employees — even though he didn't drink himself.

“The neighborhood is very sad, because he was loved,” Diego said.

In a Facebook post, pizzeria employees mourned their deceased colleague.

“To our dear friend Alex, words cannot describe how shocked and saddened we are that you are no longer with us, taken too soon by senseless violence,” the message read.

“Alex was a wonderful man, a hard worker and a loving friend and father. He always had a smile on his face and was quick to joke. A piece of our heart will always be missing without you. Rest in peace, our dear friend. You will never be forgotten.”

A GoFundMe set up to help Ramirez's family described him as a “beloved father, friend and well-known figure in the Inwood community” who worked at Johnny's for more than 15 years.

“Alex always had a smile on his face and was quick to joke,” the fundraiser organizer said. “The regulars at Johnny's considered him a member of the family. We are starting this GoFundMe to help Alex's family with the costs of burying her beloved father and husband. May he rest in peace.”

As of Wednesday afternoon, the company had raised about $7,500 of its $10,000 goal.

One donor wrote that she nicknamed Alex “Smiley” because of his always cheerful nature.

“You didn't even have to be in the store, you just had to walk by, and if you looked through that window, he was there with a wave and a smile for you! » the woman wrote. “Our community has lost a special man who will be greatly missed. Rest in peace, Smiley.

No one answered the door Wednesday at the suspected shooter's address on Mosholu Parkway.

But neighbors said the apartment complex is generally a peaceful place.

“The building is usually very quiet, you never hear any activity in the halls or outside,” said an elderly lady who lives nearby.

Community members have also had nothing but vitriol toward the alleged teen shooter who cops say took his life.

“He should be punished like an adult,” said Inwood resident Gregorio Bonifacio. “He should be known as a criminal in New York and not give him a chance.” Alex was a hardworking man and didn't deserve what he did.

Melvin Manuel, an employee at the nearby Mi Esfuerso grocery store, agreed that the child should be tried as an adult.

“Of course! He knows what he did,” Manuel said. “There needs to be more control – that’s why young people get lost on these streets.”