Fresh off his first semester finals, college freshman Denzel Bimby was looking forward to a home-cooked meal when he returned to the Bronx to celebrate Christmas with his proud family.
Gifts were bought and a homecoming meal was prepared, but his family’s dream of a happy and peaceful holiday was shattered when Denzel, 18, was stabbed to death moments after getting off a bus in midtown Manhattan on Friday night.
He had just traveled five hours from SUNY Mooresville to spend winter break with his mother and siblings when he became the city’s latest victim of an unsolved murder.
“It was a direct bus ride to his house,” his sister, Godslove Nti, 28, told the Daily News on Sunday. He was under the weather. He was a bit sick, so I was making sure he took his medicine before getting on the bus.
Denzel told her that he should be home around 10pm and that he loved her.
“He would always tell me he loved me after every conversation we had, no matter if I was angry,” she recounted.
About 10:40 p.m. Friday, police found him stabbed in the chest, shoulder and arm on Park Avenue South near E. 26th Street in the Flatiron District, the end of a trail of blood that stretched a block and a half. Paramedics took him to Bellevue Hospital, but were unable to save him. Police say he was stabbed during a clash with his killer, but they have not arrested anyone.
Denzel was a business administration major and successfully adjusted to college life upstate, “a different world for city kids,” his sister said.
She added: “It is a college with agricultural land, green spaces and seclusion.” “They had limited food options, so when he came home, we made sure to pack him plenty of food.”
One of his first priorities when he returned home was to ask his mother to make him jollof, a West African rice dish.
“My mom and my other brother were going to do it for him,” she said of the family’s plans Friday.
“He had everyone who went to college, so we mentored him,” she added. He was in good hands. He was a typical college kid. “He went to that school because I went to that school and his other brother went there.”
They grew up so poor that they couldn’t celebrate Christmas properly in the past, but this year will be different.
“We just put up our tree,” Nettie said. “We were going to celebrate with Christmas songs. This was our second time really celebrating Christmas.
Nicholas Williams for the New York Daily News
Memorial candles outside the home of Denzel Bembe, who was stabbed to death Friday night. (Nicholas Williams for the New York Daily News)
Chatter on social media suggests that Denzel’s death was linked to an ongoing fight between local Bronx street gangs. He may have fought with two of the attackers on the bus before the stabbing, NBC New York reported. He was known by the nickname “Droy” to his friends.
Nettie said she did not know what led to his death, but she was angry about what she referred to as “bullying” posts on social media, including some posts on his private Instagram page that mocked his fate. She indicated that the police were monitoring those sites.
“Whoever did this will not be able to hide from it. “Wherever he is, the police will find him,” she added. “Any bullying or any harassment that happens, it has to stop. The sarcasm in light of the situation must stop. No mother should bury her child. “My grandmother should not have to see her grandson buried.”
An avid basketball player, Denzel wanted to get into the business side of the sport and one day own his own company.
“He had big goals,” his sister said. “He wanted to get his mother out of the hood.”
He was a huge fan of LeBron James.
“He knew LeBron was the greatest player… He knew the stats, he watched basketball in the 90s. He followed LeBron through his entire journey from Cleveland, Miami, to Cleveland.”
“He was the only LeBron fan in the house, and we would sometimes tease him saying LeBron wasn’t the best. He was passionate in arguments. He knew basketball like the back of his hand.
Good luck to the victim’s family
Denzel Bembe, 18, was stabbed in the Flatiron District on Friday. (Courtesy of the victim’s family)
Denzel was the second youngest of five siblings, and his family had a tradition of dressing up in pajamas and taking photos together to celebrate the holidays when money was scarce for gifts.
Nti had more in store for Denzel this year.
“I ordered some clothes for him,” she said of the gifts she will never be able to give him. “He loved wearing Nike Tech, so I bought him that and Chanel Bleu, which was something new for him. I always wanted my brothers to feel like they had the nicest things.”
“We grew up with a single mother, so it was hard to get us the nicest things. … When I was of the age to work and contribute at home, I wanted my siblings to look their best and have the best things. As the big sister, I wanted to be a role model.” .
Now she’s worried that Christmas will be painful.
“Denzel’s little brother is in pain. They are 11 months apart. ‘My little brother is afraid to go out,'” she said. “Denzel was energetic. He had a lot of ambition. Whatever room he was in, he loved to tell people jokes, and he loved to smile.
With Rebecca White
The holiday season took a tragic turn for one college student in New York City, as she was stabbed to death while getting off the bus to head home for Christmas. The news of this senseless act of violence has sent shockwaves through the student’s community, leaving friends and family members grappling with profound grief and disbelief. As the city reels from this heartbreaking loss, the incident serves as a sobering reminder of the need for increased safety measures to protect individuals from such heinous acts.