A young police officer who was shot and killed by his father in an apparent murder-suicide on Wednesday was passionate about causes that supported mental health, according to neighbors and social media posts from the organizations he worked with.
Alexis Martinez, 26, was especially involved with Beyond the Badge, a nonprofit that aims to break the stigma around suicide and mental health issues for first responders.
“Devastated is an understatement!” wrote one of the organization’s leaders in a Facebook post about Martinez. The post’s author, who is not named, explained that Martinez had joined the organization’s NYPD softball team for “Strikeout Suicide,” which aims to raise money and awareness for first responders’ mental health through tournaments and events.
Martinez worked in the Bronx narcotics unit, according to the NYPD. Department officials said he was killed in a domestic incident around noon on Wednesday at a building on Fteley Avenue in Soundview.
On Thursday, neighbors and residents of the tight-knit community in the building concurred with news reports that said Martinez’s own father killed him before fatally shooting himself in his fourth-floor apartment — though police have not officially confirmed this. It was unclear if Martinez was permanently living with his father or just visiting.
“I received a DM from Alexis asking how he can go about playing in the tournament, because breaking the stigma of mental health was a priority to him and liked the work we were doing,” the Facebook post’s author wrote. “Alexis you were going big places … you were the change this world needed … you were robbed of soo much!”
Next-door neighbor Estephany Garcia, who happens to be married to Martinez’s cousin, said the family is struggling to process the tragedy.
Garcia said Martinez’s father suffered from depression but was on medication. Martinez made sure he took it, she said.
“He was really close to his father,” she said. “He…
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