The Bronx father of two children killed in a suspected drug-related shooting mourned

Bronx native Jeffrey Lopez had everything to live for — a loving family, good friends and a three-month-old newborn son he wanted to introduce to the world.

But on Wednesday, all those plans were violently shattered in a cloud of smoke.

“We’re all miserable,” Price, a longtime friend of the 30-year-old Lopez, told the Daily News, noting that everyone near the corner of Beaumont Ave. near E. 187th St. in Belmont – a few blocks from the Bronx Zoo – were stunned by the killings there. “People who own stores, the pharmacy, everyone is hurt by this.”

Lopez was killed in front of his two older brothers. The three were known to hang around the corner, neighbors said.

“They never caused any trouble. (He) and his brothers were out here almost every day,” said Mario Krasniqi, the owner of Mario’s Pizza & Italian Homemade Cuisine, which is located across the street from where the shooting occurred. “I know them to be good neighbors. They come into the store. They even help me with the transporters. It’s shocking and surprising.”

Police continue to search for a masked gunman who fired nine shots at Lopez, fatally hitting him in the head.

Police believe the shooting was a drug-related crime. They claim Lopez was a dealer.

The gunman fled in a silver Honda after the shooting at 6 p.m.

After he was shot, Lopez stumbled halfway before collapsing on the street. A Yankees cap, a cell phone, a comb and a disposable phone were found in a pool of blood outside the snack bar.

Paramedics took Lopez to St. Barnabas Hospital, but everyone knew “he was already gone,” Price said.

“After the recording was finished, I went over to see who was laying down. His brother was right here with him. He died right in front of two of his brothers. His older brothers.”

One of his siblings placed Jeffrey’s Yankee cap back on his head to prevent other family members from seeing the vicious wound.

“He didn’t want anyone to see him like that, so he put his hat over his face,” Price recalled. “He said, ‘My brother is gone.'”

Days later, a heart made of rose petals and a makeshift memorial filled with pictures and messages to the fallen father were left at the scene where Lopez died.

Longtime friends remembered Lopez as a lovable computer game nerd and father of two who enjoyed building computers and had a variety of pets, including a snake, a lizard, a tarantula and a dog named Venom.

Lopez’s oldest son is 8. His youngest is only 3 months old.

“When he’s not with his animals, he has his kids,” Price said. “The baby lived with him. His eldest son didn’t. But he takes it with him every weekend. He takes his son and his son’s brother, who isn’t even his child, every weekend. Just because he doesn’t want (the other child) to feel left out.”

According to police, Lopez lived about three blocks from where he was killed.

“He didn’t bother anyone,” Price said. “He always made everyone laugh. He was very open.”

Lopez was arrested three times, once for selling drugs, police said. His most recent arrest came in 2020 when police arrested him for criminal breach of trust. He was also arrested for negligent bodily harm.

NYPD Chief Detective Joseph Kenny said Friday that the gunman targeted Lopez. Surveillance video recovered from the scene recorded the gunman “walking down Beaumont, pulling a handgun from his waistband and firing nine times toward E. 187th St., striking our victim once in the head,” Kenny said

“He arrives in a silver Honda and flees,” Kenny said of the shooter.

Police are trying to determine whether the killing is related to five other shootings in the area since April 21.

“All this violence is happening (right there),” Kenny said. “We’re trying to figure out if some of it or all of it is related.”

Police have released images of the shooter in the hope that someone will recognize him. Anyone with information about his whereabouts is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS. All calls are treated confidentially.