BEDFORD-STUYVESANT — The mother of a Brooklyn social worker who was among the 49 victims killed in the Orlando mass shooting delivered a message of compassion at his funeral Tuesday.
Gertrude Merced said the legacy of Enrique Rios — who was just 25 years old when gunman Omar Mateen opened fire inside the Orlando nightclub Pulse in one of the deadliest mass shootings in the nation's history — should be one of love, not fear.
“We don’t always have to be so angry, and we don’t always want to retaliate,” said Merced, flanked by family and friends at the Greater Free Gift Baptist Church in Bedford-Stuyvesant, where she and her children have attended services since they were young.
“There’s still room for love, there’s still room for forgiveness. Our God is a loving God, a forgiving God. And there’s no room for judgment. Only God judges.”
As dozens of mourners clad in purple — Rios’ favorite color, his mother said — came to pay their respects to the Brooklyn resident Tuesday, they recalled his contagious laughter, his love of salsa and bachata, and his concern for others.
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The St. Francis College student and social worker had been visiting Florida on vacation, according to family members.
He lived with his grandmother at their Williamsburg home and looked after her while working as a care coordinator at a Brooklyn homecare agency, relatives and friends said.
“It was just his spirit, his gentle and kind way of doing things,” neighbor Corvette Bruno said through tears.
“You never saw him in arguments with people, he accepted everybody for who and what they are. This is why this is so painful, because he didn’t have to die like that.”
Rios loved to cook, she added, and would come to Bruno’s door with a variety of dishes including favorites like pernil, rice and beans, and pasteles.
Photo credit: DNAinfo/Camille Bautista
Flowers arranged in a rainbow flag adorned the entrance to the Bed-Stuy church, accompanied by photos of Rios.
Friends and family wore shirts and pins bearing a picture of him with angel wings, and visitors including Mayor Bill de Blasio stopped by during the afternoon viewing.
Nicknamed “Boobie,” Rios was close with his many cousins and five siblings, relatives said, and as a sharp dresser, also earned the moniker “Papi Fly.”
His body was laid out in a dark wood casket Tuesday, dressed in a purple pinstripe suit as mourners filed past to say their final goodbyes. Rios will be cremated, relatives said.
Family members celebrated his life, saying he was a man of faith involved in bible study groups who encouraged relatives and friends to come to church.
Worship music filled Greater Faith Baptist Church with resounding claps, foot-stomping, and dancing as Rios’ mother joined in with the choir.
Photo credit: DNAinfo/Camille Bautista
Rios’ stepfather, Roberto Merced, who raised him since he was a young child, stressed the importance of their belief in God and said his son always strived to improve himself.
His love for helping the elderly was clear from his youth, he added, remembering an instance when Rios came home crying after a man he took care of had passed away.
“It was a pleasure raising him, and it’s hard, it hurts me hard because you protect them so much, and then they become men, and you still want to protect them, you want to hold on to them,” Roberto Merced said.
Cory Richards, who relatives said was with Rios during the shooting, paid tribute to him during the service.
“I was there with you until the end, and I’m still here with you,” Richards said.
