Brooklyn man shot dead over lunch, mourned at ballpark candlelight rally

Hundreds of mourners gathered at a softball field in Brooklyn Friday night to remember the shooting of a 30-year-old amateur athlete and construction worker outside a public housing estate during lunchtime.

When he wasn’t working as an electrician or construction worker, Ronald Ortiz played shortstop in several Williamsburg softball leagues and a local basketball league.

“Can you see everyone here? This shows that a lot of people care.” He spoke of more than 400 people gathered on the park field.

A bouquet and candles surrounded his helmet on the pitcher’s mound. This was appropriate as Ortiz was a pitcher for his high school team.

Ortiz’s number, “21,” glows in the lights of the backstop, and his friends light and release a floating lantern in his honor.

“He was good at sports, but that wasn’t why people loved him,” Rubino said. “It was his great love for people. He brought joy everywhere.”

Teammate Alex Dubin, 40, said: “He was the sweetest guy in the world. The best player in every league he played.

Ortiz, nicknamed “Ronnie,” grew up in Greenpoint and attended Grand Street Campus High School, where he played baseball for four years.

“Ronnie was a gentleman on and off the field,” said Melvin Martinez, 53, who was Ortiz’s high school baseball coach. “He continued to play great baseball after school.”

Martinez noted that Ortiz’s high school team made it to the finals of the Public School Athletic League. This is a credit to Ortiz for playing a “big role”.

Around 11:55 a.m. Wednesday, Ortiz was taking his lunch break under the shade of the Boulevard House on Stanley Avenue near Ashford Street in eastern New York when the gray car rolled over.

The man got out of the car and fired six shots, deadly ortiz In my chest, the police said.

Police said the bullets were blank. “He was specifically targeted,” NYPD Chief of Detectives James Essig told reporters.

Doctors rushed Ortiz to Brookdale Hospital, but were unable to save him.

Family and friends distrusted his killing, saying that he had no known enemies.

No arrests have been made and the investigation continues.