Victim In Harlem Shooting Was Food Delivery Bicyclist

EAST HARLEM, NY — The man found shot to death on an East Harlem basketball court this week was a food delivery worker who was targeted for his electric bike, according to his coworkers.

The victim, 29-year-old Francisco Villalva Vitinio, was shot shortly after 11 p.m. Monday on a basketball court inside Poor Richard's Playground, on Third Avenue near East 108th Street.

Villalva Vitinio was taking a break and sitting on a park bench when someone approached him and tried to steal his e-bike, the Daily News reported Wednesday. After refusing to give up his prized bike, Villalva Vitinio was shot, fellow workers told the Daily News.

He suffered a gunshot wound to the torso and was pronounced dead at Mount Sinai Hospital, police said.

"Francisco is a #Deliverista and has been working hard to support his father in our native town in Mexico," Villalva Vitinio's cousin wrote in a GoFundMe that seeks to cover his funeral costs, using the term adopted by Latin American delivery workers.

#JusticeForFrancisco— On March 29, 2021 at 10:30pm in East Harlem, Francisco Villalva Vitinio, #NYCDeliveryWorker worker was killed while working for @doordash.

Donate to the family fund: https://t.co/2G5I253qBe and join us in demanding justice Francisco & all #NYCDeliveristas pic.twitter.com/0HaCPusqgD
— Workers Justice (@workersjusticep) April 1, 2021

After having worked directly for restaurants for a decade, Villalva Vitinio lost his job during the pandemic and was forced to start working for DoorDash, his cousin, Josefa Villalva, wrote. He had just finished his shift when he was attacked on Monday.

"We are demanding justice for Francisco, but at the same time calling on the solidarity of our community to raise funds to cover his funeral cost," Villalva said.

In recent months, food delivery workers have been targeted with increasing frequency by robbers trying to steal their expensive e-bikes. The trend has accelerated as demand for food delivery has grown during the pandemic, the New York Times reported this month.

Last week, police asked for help identifying a pair of motorcyclists who have stolen electric bicycles in at five separate Manhattan robberies since February. Four of those robberies happened in Harlem, police said.

Upper Manhattan has seen some of the biggest recent spikes in e-bike robberies, along with parts of Southern Brooklyn and the Bronx, police told the Times.

Villalva Vitinio's death remains under investigation, an NYPD spokesperson Thursday. No suspects have been named and police have not announced any connection to the string of Harlem e-bike robberies.