‘It’s just hard’: Family, friends remember Fort Worth father and son lost to gun violence
Dozens of friends, neighbors and co-workers showed up at Marine Park on Saturday to support the family of the father and son who were fatally shot outside their north Fort Worth home last week.
The two men — 41-year-old Fermin Ramirez and 22-year-old Jacob Ramirez — will be remembered as hard workers with good hearts, Fermin’s sister Inosencia Ramirez told the Star-Telegram.
Officers responded to the Ramirez home in the 2400 block of Ross Avenue around 1:50 a.m. Aug. 17. Both men were pronounced dead at the scene of the double homicide. Police think they were killed during an altercation with the shooter.
Inosencia Ramirez said her brother and nephew had just returned home from a club. A friend also showed up at their house with one of his friends.
The friend’s friend started “getting cocky,” according to Inosencia Ramirez, and Fermin and Jacob asked him to leave. The man pulled out a gun and shot both of them, she said.
“It’s just hard,” Inosencia Ramirez said.
She remembers spending time with her nephew Jacob Ramirez in Breckenridge, Colorado, last month. Jacob took her and some other family members on the trip and paid for everything, she said.
Jacob Ramirez might have been young, but Inosencia Ramirez said he was already living “the American dream.” He was set to inherit his grandparents’ house this fall, and Fermin Ramirez was going to help him fix it up.
The father and son had a close relationship, Inosencia Ramirez said.
Saturday’s fundraiser at Marine Park was to help cover funeral expenses for the two men.
One of Jacob Ramirez’s coworkers, who identified herself as Rachael E., described the 22-year-old as “a really good kid” who was easy to like.
“He was so loved at work,” she told the Star-Telegram.
Freida Rivera of the community organization No More Violence was preparing to help with a balloon release for Fermin Ramirez and Jacob Ramirez later in the day. She’s attended multiple events to honor those lost to violence, but said this event hit her differently because Fermin and Jacob were her cousins.
“I never expected it to be in my family,” Rivera told the Star-Telegram.
Rivera said she was a victim of violence a few years ago. That’s what motivates her to support victims’ families and work toward ending all types of violence. Now it’s hard for her to realize that she survived but her cousins didn’t.
The suspect in the double shooting fled the scene in a vehicle, police have said. No arrests have been announced.
This story was originally published August 24, 2024 at 8:40 PM.
