The family of an Uber driver fatally shot in the Bronx is turning their grief into a powerful tribute by building a well in Africa in his memory.
Muhamadou Gumaneh, a devout Muslim, was killed just weeks after celebrating his 27th birthday. His family believes he was struck by stray bullets.
Rooted in their Islamic faith, the gesture of building a well aims to ensure blessings in the afterlife for Gumaneh, the family said.
“The well is a charity that we do for the deceased,” explained his cousin, Khadeeja Gumaneh. “In Islam, when you do things like that it’s basically to help them in the afterlife.”
The family plans to build the well in their home country of Gambia.
“It’s a well that’s going to help people in Africa,” Khadeeja said.
“Anybody that drinks from it, whatever you do with the water, it’s like ongoing charity,” added his sister, Mariyam Gumaneh.
Muhamadou was shot in the chest, arm, and back on Sheridan Ave. near Marcy Place about 1:10 a.m. Thursday. He worked a variety of gigs, including driving for Uber, but was not on the job when he was slain, his family says.
Medics rushed him to Lincoln Hospital but could not be saved. Six shell casings were recovered at the scene but no arrests have been made.
The gunman, masked and dressed in dark clothing, has not been caught, leaving the family desperate for justice.
Theodore Parisienne for New York Daily News
Muhamadou Gumaneh was shot multiple times on Sheridan Ave. near Marcy Place around 1:10 a.m. on Thursday. (Theodore Parisienne for New York Daily News)
“He was a praying man, a devout Muslim,” said his brother, Saibou Gumaneh, in the family’s Bronx apartment two miles from where Muhamadou was killed. “He was definitely not the intended target. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
Muhamadou had just completed GED classes and was working toward becoming a realtor, according to his sister.
“He was in the process of getting married,” Mariyam said, recalling how her brother had visited her just days before the shooting. “He bought me flowers and said, ‘I love you, sis.’ It was like he knew.”
“He was always going out of his way to do anything for the family,” Mariyam added. “Our father is in the hospital sick right now and my brother went to the hospital every single day to take care of him.”
Reflecting on the senselessness of her brother’s death, Mariyam called for change.
“We have to take the guns away from the streets. The guns are not necessary,” she said. “He had nothing to do with that life.”
