Related through tragedy

There was a lot of support Tuesday for the family of Alejandro Rojas-Garcia, the 34-year-old man shot to death Jan. 24 as he sat in his new Chevrolet Trailblazer outside a Feltonville after-hours club.

Three of those supporters did not know Rojas-Garcia, son of an official of the Gloucester County NAACP, but all were now related through the shared agony of losing a loved one to violence.

"It's so important for the public to know about this," said Rosalind Pichardo, who founded Operation Save Our City after her brother, Alex Martinez, 22, was shot to death during a Jan. 9, 2012 robbery in the 3500 block of North Hutchinson Street in North Philadelphia.

Police offered a $10,000 reward and released surveillance video of the two gunmen who fled in a dark-colored pickup truck but today, more than three years later, no one has been arrested.

Sharing the pain of surviving the victim of an unsolved murder was Kathy Lees, whose son Justin Reyes, 17, died after being shot in the chest and back on Norris Street, near Sixth Street, in North Philadelphia, on June 10, 2011.

And finally there was Bernard Ray, whose son and namesake Bernard Ray, 39, was killed Jan. 4, shot in the chest as he sat in his blue Ford Windstar in the 3700 block of Delhi Street in Hunting Park. Ray said one man has been arrested in his son's killing and police are hunting for a second.

All three said they were there in Philadelphia's Criminal Justice Center at the preliminary hearing for Rojas-Garcia's alleged killer to support the victim's family and bring attention to the problem of gun violence and the enduring pain it causes.

Their presence certainly touched Rojas-Garcia's parents, Wilfredo Rojas and Aleida Garcia, who made sure they introduced the three during a meeting with reporters after the hearing.

Rojas and Garcia also called for an end to the senseless violence that killed their son and wounded a classmate who was a passenger in the SUV.

Rojas and Garcia have founded Justice for Alex Rojas-Garcia: A Structure for Peace and Unity, to remember homicide victims and provide a forum for their families.

Garcia said she also hosts two Internet radio podcasts dedicated to the cause each week: "Loving Legacy" on Gtownradio.com, from 5 to 6 p.m. on Thursdays and a Spanish-language version, "Legado de Amor," from 7 to 8 p.m. Thursdays on Philatinosradio.com.

According to the Philadelphia Police Department, there were 64 murders between Jan. 1 and midnight Tuesday, compared to 67 during the same period last year. That's a dramatic drop from that period in 2007 when there were 111 homicides.

"The politicians tell us that the number of homicides are declining," says the Justice for Alex website, "but one murder is too many. Violent deaths are the leading cause of death for men of color in this country.

"These numbers not acceptable. Until the number is 0, we will continue to carry the torch of Justice for Alex and all victims of homicide."