Community mourns loss of USPS worker stabbed and killed in Harlem deli
HARLEM, Manhattan (WABC) -- A community is mourning the loss of a 36-year-old postal worker who was stabbed and killed during a dispute in a Harlem deli on Thursday.
The warmth from dozens of candles could be felt on a frigid Friday morning as friends and neighbors stopped by the Mott Haven Houses to remember the life of Ray Hodge.
"I watched him grow up and to see him, you know, go from one stage of life to the next, to better himself, was anything you could ask from a kid," neighbor Andrea M. said.
One friend told Eyewitness News that he and Hodge grew up together in the Bronx.
"We all loved him in the community. It's a tragic loss...we're going to celebrate him and keep his spirit alive," the friend said.
He says Hodge took his kids to school every morning, took care of his mother, loved sports and music.
The friend said he could never have imagined Hodge would be killed in such a senseless manner.
Police say the postal worker was on the job when he was stabbed and killed inside a deli on Lenox Avenue and West 118th Street on Thursday afternoon.
An employee of the deli said the violent confrontation between Hodge and the 24-year-old suspect, named Jaia Cruz, started over something trivial.
"They were arguing about who's going to order first, we tried to break them, to separate them," a store employee said.
Authorities say Hodge was stabbed multiple times and Cruz is charged with first degree murder. Cruz has two prior arrests in 2020 for incidents that involved knives.
Those who knew Hodge say this is yet another sobering reminder of how quickly life can change.
"Nobody knows what tomorrow is going to bring, so we've got to cherish the people that we love in the moment we have them," Andrea M. said.
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service says it is working with the NYPD on the investigation.
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