Dozens of people gathered in Long Beach Thursday evening, including a grieving wife, to remember a 37-year-old man, a well-known food vendor, who was fatally gunned down yesterday afternoon.
The victim, Yener Ramirez, a resident of Wilmington, was in the 100 block of Eagle Street when gunfire broke out, according to a news release from the Long Beach Police Department.
Detectives believe “multiple unknown suspects” were present down the block from the man when at least one person fired multiple shots, one of which hit the vendor in his upper body. He succumbed to his wound at a local hospital.
“He was a very humble guy, a very hardworking guy,” Jose Fernandez, the victim’s cousin, told KTLA. “It’s crazy. I just seen him Sunday. I saw him here at Signal Hill Park. He was selling.”
Ramirez, who was also known as the “Corn Guy” by kids in the neighborhood, had been working as a food vendor on local sidewalks for the past 14 years.
Details are limited, but it may have been an argument between four men that led to gunfire that struck two parked vehicles and fatally hit Ramirez.
Ramirez’s sister-in-law, Leslie Morales, told KTLA in Spanish that there are no words to describe her pain. She said her brother-in-law liked to help everyone and was sadly in the wrong place at the wrong time.
An avid soccer player, Ramirez was a father of two and a grandfather.
Sadly, the 37-year-old is also now another statistic in Long Beach, a city that has struggled with violence in recent weeks, leaving many residents feeling unsettled and unsafe.
Friends and family are planning a fundraiser on Eagle Street on March 30 and also have a GoFundMe campaign set up to help with funeral expenses that can be found here.