Zelda Smith’s oldest son told her he was making a quick trip to their corner store in Queens.
“My son said he was coming back,” she said. “He never came back.”
Tyrell Smith, 33, instead became another victim of gun violence plaguing the city when he was shot in front of the bodega at 31st Ave. and Hobart St. in Woodside about 12:20 a.m. ET Sunday, cops said.
“He was shot four times, once in the leg, once in the arm, once in the chest, and once in the stomach,” Zelda Smith said.
The heartbroken mom had just this month celebrated her son with a big Father’s Day party, a ritual every year since her 4-year-old grandson, his only son, was born.
“I gave him a big Father’s Day party every year,” she said, in which she welcomed all comers. “If I didn’t know you, I’d still give you a plate.”
Tyrell Smith supported his family making local truck deliveries in Queens, his fiancee Shahara Bolden said.
“He was a great father,” Bolden said. “His son loves him. He did everything for me. He was very well respected. He was a working man.”
She struggled to put his death into words.
“It’s a sad loss.”
Bolden said that her husband had no gang affiliations and was not feuding with anyone in the days and weeks leading up to his murder.
“There was nothing gang-related, absolutely not,” she said.
Police continue to investigate his death but have not released any theories on why he was targeted.
“When your firstborn dies, it’s like there’s a knife in you that you can’t pull out,” his cousin Angie Smith said.
But if Zelda Smith can’t find peace after her son’s murder she’s hoping she can at least put his soul to rest.
“I just want to bury my son and put him at ease,” she said.
