The young man fatally stabbed by a group of thugs at a Lower East Side housing project was a hardworking college student who spent most of his time caring for his 14-year-old brother with Down syndrome.
Police said Glen Wright, 21, was the victim of mistaken identity. He was washing the windows at his grandmother's house when a man came up from behind him and plunged a knife in the back of his neck at the Baruch Houses, according to the Daily News.
Wright attempted to run from his attackers when he was stabbed again near the doorway of the building, police told the Daily News.
Wright, whose mother passed away several years ago, avoided trouble while growing up in Harlem with his eight siblings. He worked several jobs and spent much of his time taking care of his brother with Down syndrome.
"He wasn't just stolen from us," his sister, Blondie Rodriguez, told the Daily News. "He was stolen from this entire community because he was going to do something magnificent that helped us all."
Police arrested Joel Herrera, 20, on murder charges. Herrera, a suspected gang member, told detectives that he mixed Wright up with someone who beat up one of his friends, the Daily News reported.
Wright, who was interested in photography and engineering, was enrolled at the Bourogh of Manhattan Community College. He graduated from Central Park East High School and was part of the East Harlem Tutorial Program.
Wright was a member of the program's 2006 underdog robot-building team and continued to work with the team as a staff member and volunteer after graduating, according to the New York Times.
“He was just one of these guys who was so caring,” Jeff Ginsburg, executive director of the East Harlem Tutorial Program, told the Times. “I know it’s cliché to say it, but everyone loved him.”
A vigil for Wright will take place today at 5 p.m. at the East Harlem Tutorial Program. Funeral services will be held Saturday at Benta's Funeral Home in Harlem.
