GRAMERCY, Manhattan (WABC) — Pain is being felt in all corners of New York City on Wednesday, as loved ones mourn unimaginable loss following the deadly Midtown shooting that claimed the lives of four innocent victims.
A service in Midtown was held for the youngest victim, 27-year-old Julia Hyman, and in Gramercy, an event honoring slain security guard, 46-year-old Aland Etienne, among the many showings of grief on Wednesday.
“Aland was a brother, a son, a loving father – a fantastic father,” said the brother of Aland Etienne, Smith Etienne.
At Aland Etienne’s union headquarters, the victims of Monday’s shooting were honored. The slain security guard’s brother spoke about his family’s pain.
“My brother Aland was a hard-working man,” Smith Etienne said. “Always doing his part to make the city a little bit safer every day. New York City has lost a hero.”
Smith Etienne says his brother had a creative side, aspiring to be a filmmaker, and inspiring him.
“With his guidance and support, I am where I am today as one of the top filmmakers in Haiti, and I owe him everything,” he said.
The union, Service Employees International, has endorsed Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani, who also spoke.
“As we grieve the loss and murder of four New Yorkers, we know there are others recuperating now in hospital, and millions of New Yorkers praying for them all,” Mamdani said.
Earlier on Wednesday, mourners gathered at Central Synagogue in Midtown to remember Hyman, the youngest of the four victims.
The Rudin Management employee was a summa cum laude graduate of Cornell University, and a noted scholar athlete at the Riverdale School in the Bronx, where she was captain of the varsity lacrosse team.
“Julia changed our lives. She made us better friends, better listeners, and better people,” said friends of Hyman. “We miss her with everything that we have, but we will carry her with us always.”
Also killed was 43-year-old Wesley LePatner, one of Blackstone’s highest-ranking women, according to the Wall Street Journal, where she managed the company’s $53 billion real estate fund.
The mother of two was a well-known philanthropist and donor, including to her alma mater, Yale University, where friends say she met her husband during her freshman year. The UJA Federation called her “extraordinary in every way.”
Meanwhile, Eyewitness News is still awaiting updates on the 41-year-old NFL finance department employee, who was shot in the back when the gunman sprayed the lobby.
He remains in the hospital in critical but stable condition.
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