NYPD officer killed in murder-suicide in the Bronx to be laid to rest Friday
INWOOD, Bronx (WABC) -- Family and friends will pay their final respects on Friday to NYPD Officer Alexis Martinez, who was shot and killed by his own father who suffered from mental health issues.
The off-duty officer was killed last week in his father's Bronx apartment in an apparent murder-suicide.
Scores of city police officers, who spend entire careers dealing with other people's misfortune, supported one another Thursday night through a searing loss of their own.
"It was his smile. The moment he walked in, it was like, 'here he is, the guy with the nice smile,'" NYPD Sgt. Lissette Henriquez said.
At only 26, friends say Officer Martinez was a rising star in the NYPD. After just five years, he'd already passed the sergeant's test, and was working towards a detective shield in Bronx narcotics, where he and Sgt. Henriquez became fast friends.
"He wanted to give back to his community and was all about the youth," Henriquez said. "We went through COVID, and riots, and he was still in it. He was all about his community. He had great mentors and that's what he wanted to give back."
Martinez was well known among Hispanic fraternal organizations in the NYPD, and the department's baseball league.
"He always wanted to set an example and help the kids, always the best for the community," friend Jose Lopez said through a translator.
Family friend Jose De La Cruz watched Martinez grow up not far from here, and said he saw it as his duty to give back to the community.
As a rookie he was assigned to the 34th Precinct, just a few blocks away from the funeral home where his fellow officers built a memorial to their friend.
"He's a beautiful person, a person who was always happy and was just an example of who to follow, someone to follow," friend Dago Nunez said.
But while he risked his life for New Yorkers, he would lose his life at home, shot by his own father, who then turned the gun on himself.
It's a family tragedy that's still impossible to explain.
"He was an excellent boy," De La Cruz said. "And we can't even make sense of what happened."
"It is definitely tragic, tragic," he said.
NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban paid his respects at the officer's wake. Just two weeks ago, Caban took a picture with a group of officers, including Martinez.
Martinez was a young officer with so much promise, just beginning his career.
"It is definitely tragic, tragic," Caban said. "And he's just a kid from the neighborhood. Young officer, joined the NYPD baseball team, played baseball, beloved by his fellow officers, gave back, worked so hard, and our thoughts and prayers are with his family."
It was clear from the turnout Friday night how much of a fixture Martinez became, not just in the NYPD but also in his own community.
His funeral is set for Friday morning.
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