The Goldman Sachs executive who was randomly shot down on the Q train was remembered on Sunday by his family as a proud Mexican American with a commitment to nonviolence.
Dozens of family and friends attended the victim’s Daniel Enriquez evening in Queens, where his sister Griselda Vile was a “proud New Yorker” and a “proud Mexican,” who would break up fights without ever punching him.
“He’s a pacifist,” Vile said outside the James Romanelli-Stephen funeral home. “You have no weapons.
“Even when people were beaten or attacked, he would stand between the aggressor and the victim, but he wouldn’t even hit her,” Vile said.
Enriquez was allegedly shot dead by the suspect Andrew Abdullah in broad daylight as Enriquez was on the Q train heading north for a snack. Abdullah was arrested and charged with second-degree murder on Wednesday.
Enriquez, a Goldman Sachs researcher and Park Slope resident, was the fourth homicide on the subway this year.
“He’s the coolest person in our whole family, and he has to work so hard for them and be taken that way. I don’t want his death to be in vain. He would have wanted a change and wanted justice,” Vile said. .
Suspect Andrew Abdullah allegedly received a fatal shot while on the Q train to Manhattan for lunch on May 22, 2022.
“So I will continue to work with this district attorney to make sure this man never sees the light of day. And I want the legislation to ensure that he protects communities and individuals.”
He said everyone loved him at work and at the bar where he spent his time.
“I had a lot of love,” said Vile, who after talking to reporters could be seen crying and hugging friends, asking, “Who will protect me now?”
Enríquez’s sister, Griselda Vile, remembered him as a “pacifist” who would break up fights. Gregory P. Mango
A funeral for Enriquez will be held Tuesday at a church in Williamsburg. His father, Ruberto, came from Mexico for services.
Friend Anthony Procaccino, 55, said Enriquez was “in love with a man.”
Procaccino, who lives on the Upper East Side, catches the Q train regularly.
“I’ve been in New York most of my life. So I’m not so nervous,” he said of taking the subway. “But when you’re more than one person in a million people and it happens to be someone very special to someone special to you, it’s obviously very impactful.”
Abdullah was arrested and charged with second-degree murder. Photo AP / Steven Hirsch, Pool
Enriquez’s niece, Jessica, couldn’t understand how anyone could see the alleged gunman carrying a gun.
“He was just going to lunch and all of a sudden, just a random boom, he was shot and how, it’s hard. I say, ‘How can that be?’ And I’ve been talking about that, can they have more control over the gun? ” she said.
“How did this guy get control of a gun and how did he get on the train? And then no one sees that he had a gun in his hand? Because everyone is very distracted on the phone. No one sees it.”