A 23-year-old moved to D.C. from upstate New York with a passion for helping others. His family is now planning his funeral after he was shot on Thursday in Northeast.
Ryan Realbuto was killed in the Michigan Park neighborhood after he left a church gathering.
On Monday, his mother pleaded for answers as police search for his killer.
“He loved community. He loved faith. He had such a strong, strong faith,” Janet Realbuto said as she wept.
D.C. police said Realbuto was with two friends near the Fort Totten Metro station, almost home after going to a church event, when a driver pulled up near them and someone inside asked for money. Realbuto said he didn’t have any, and someone inside shot and killed him.
“All because of one person that felt he had the right to take a gun and shoot it at my son and take somebody's life. An innocent life,” Janet Realbuto said.
Realbuto was the type of person who lit up a room, his college roommate, Evan Joyce, said.
“He’s touched so many people with his generosity and his caringness and his willingness to help others,” he said.
Realbuto joined the Capuchin Franciscan volunteer corps and worked with at-risk youth.
An online fundraiser for his family had raised over $103,000 as of Monday evening. Realbuto’s aunt said the money will be used to bring his body back to New York and help pay for his funeral.
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Joyce, Realbuto’s college roommate, said his friend’s murder shook him to his core.
“You question, Why does this happen to the people that least deserve it?” he asked.
