The Trenton Times published the following article on June 15, 2013. To read the full article, click here.
Trenton teenager becomes city’s 16th homicide victim of the year
By Alex Zdan/The Times
on June 15, 2013 at 7:10 AM, updated June 25, 2013 at 2:27 PMTRENTON — Rayshawn Ransom’s 19 years of life are over.
Last night, the young city man who was shot in the head and chest on Passaic Street early Thursday was being prepped to have his organs removed for donation. He was kept alive only by a ventilator.
The decision to give the organs was one made by Ransom’s family, his father Raymond Salter-Ransom said yesterday. The donation gives Salter-Ransom some meaning in his son’s death.
“There’s nothing like the gift of life, when they’re able to provide that life to others who need it,” Salter-Ransom said. “And that’s what makes him my hero.”
Teary-eyed as he walked the hallways of Capital Health Regional Medical Center yesterday, Salter-Ransom said his son’s prognosis had only worsened since Thursday. On the ventilator nearly since he was brought into the hospital, Ransom’s injuries were too severe for him to recover.
Police continue to seek leads in the case, but are up against limited cooperation from the 100 block of Passaic Street where the shooting occurred. Yesterday, Lt. Mark Kieffer said that the police investigation found the car Ransom was in was not in motion at the time of the shooting, but was stopped on Passaic. Ransom was seated on the passenger side as the driver and several other men argued with a small group on the street.
The altercation did not get physical, and men standing outside the car who were with Ransom started walking away, believing the argument was over, Kieffer said. When they did, at least two shooters opened fire from the sidewalk. The men they were aiming for jumped into the car.
The driver was able to start the vehicle and speed away, but by then Ransom had been struck in the chest and head, police said. He was the only one injured by the gunfire.
At the Rowan Towers apartment complex a short distance up West State Street, the driver stopped and got help from off-duty Officer James Mack, who was working security at the high-rise.
Salter-Ransom said he believes his son died trying to get one of the men out of the way of gunfire.
“He’s my hero, he tried to save someone’s life,” Salter-Ransom said at the hospital. “Now, he’s going to save a whole lot of lives.”
Ransom was already the city’s 16th homicide of 2013.Anyone with information on the crime should call police at (609) 989-4170, or the Confidential Tip Line at (609) 989-3663.
Contact Alex Zdan at azdan@njtimes.com or (609) 989-5705.