THE BRONX — A doting dad was shot to death while answering the door of his Fordham apartment Monday night, less than an hour after returning home from work, police and colleagues said.
Rashaun Ahart, 35, was shot several times inside his second-floor apartment on Creston Avenue, near East 182nd Street, about 8:45 p.m., the NYPD said.
"I heard about six or seven shots," said Eli Jimenez, 25, who was visiting friends in the building at the time. "It sounded like a .9 mm. It was so close, you could smell the gun powder."
He was taken to Saint Barnabas Hospital, where he died, police said.
Ahart, whom friends called "Big John," had just arrived home from his job as a security guard at Sammy's clothing shop on Fordham Road, colleagues said.
"He left here yesterday around 7:45, then this happened an hour later," said co-worker Maria Peralta, 38.
"He was a nice guy. He was an excellent worker. Everyone felt safe when he was here."
Ahart was remembered as a loving father who would do anything for his 6-year-old daughter.
"He used to bring her by the store," said colleague Darryl Townes, 43. "She always hung around him. He loved her. You could tell he made it all about her."
Townes said Ahart started working in the store last June and quickly became popular.
"He was funny and kind-hearted," Townes said. "When my son had to have surgery, he helped me out and covered for me. We looked out for each other. We just clicked."
The motive for the attack was not immediately clear, police said, but Ahart had several narcotics-related prior arrests.
Friends insisted he turned his life around in the past few years.
"His daughter's mom died about four years ago," Jimenez said. "After that, he cleaned up. He was a good father. I still can't believe it."
