Javier Sanchez was 33 when he was fatally shot in the early hours of September 3, 2023, in Bushwick. He had emigrated from Ecuador about a year earlier, worked in construction and as an Uber driver in Brooklyn, and sent money home to support his young daughter. Relatives described him as a hardworking, dedicated father living with several family members near the shooting site.

According to reports, around 4 a.m. Sanchez was walking home from a party when a group confronted him at the BP gas station on Myrtle Avenue and Grove Street and attempted to steal his backpack containing personal documents. A struggle followed; he was knocked down, rose again, and was shot in the head. He was taken to Elmhurst Hospital and pronounced dead. The attackers fled and his family sought funds to repatriate his body to Ecuador.

The NYPD investigation led to an arrest on September 12 of a 17-year-old charged with murder, robbery, and weapon possession; a second arrest followed on October 11, 2023, of 29-year-old Ezequiel Delamerced on similar charges. As of October 2023 police were still seeking two others named Gonzalo Martinez, 23, and Sherlin Licurgo Espinoza, 19. If anyone has information about Javier or the people involved, please contact the NYPD Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477).