It happened just before 5 p.m. Saturday on Macombs Road in the Mount Eden section.
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Authorities say a group of three gunmen approached two men, pulled out guns, and stole a gold chain from 32-year-old Jonathan Pena who was celebrating his birthday.
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The victims attempted to flee, police said, and the robbers opened fire.
Pena was struck in the torso and died at the hospital. His 46-year-old friend was shot in the back and is listed in stable condition at Lincoln Hospital.
The gunmen fled the scene northbound on Macombs Road in a black Mercedes-Benz sedan.
A growing memorial honors Pena's life, while his 14-year-old daughter mourns the loss of her father.
"I have so many questions as to why would they do it," Jaylien Rivera said. "Why they felt the need to do something like that to such a wonderful man. He was so unproblematic, always minding his business."
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Investigators hope someone will recognize one of the suspects.
"If you needed help, he was going to help you," sister-in-law Nayarit Baez said. "His last dollar bill? Here you go. Anything you needed. Anything you needed."
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Candles, pictures and flowers now fill the memorial that pays tribute to a devoted husband and loving father, as family and friends shake their heads in disbelief at the street violence that claimed yet another innocent life.
"That's sad, man," one neighbor said. "He was giving it up. It looked like he was giving it up. So I didn't see no reason for them to shoot him like that."
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Anyone with information in regard to this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).
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