A 23-year-old man from upstate New York who moved to Washington, D.C., to work as a volunteer with a high school student support group was shot and killed during an attempted robbery in the nation's capital last week, police and his family said.
Ryan Realbuto, a recent college graduate, was walking home from a youth gathering at a church with two friends around 10 p.m. Thursday when an armed suspect demanded money from him and shot him, his family said.
“As they were walking, a car pulled up, two men demanded money, one of them got out of the car, and when no one would give him cash, that man shot and killed Ryan,” the aunt confirmed. wrote on the GoFundMe page.
Realbut was rushed to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead. This was announced by Metro DC Police.
“Ryan was very active in all types of community service,” his aunt wrote.
“He was successful not because he was motivated by making a lot of money, but because he was able to help people in need,” she said. “Ryan had a kind soul and was a kind person filled with nothing but innocence.”
The victim is from the village of Pittsfield, a suburb of Rochester, and is a 2023 graduate of St. Bonaventure University. He had been in Washington, D.C., for six months, working with the Capuchin Franciscan Volunteer Corps.
He volunteered at Maryland-based Don Bosco Cristo Rey High School, helping with a work-study program for at-risk students, his family said.
According to his family, Realbut and the other volunteers receive a small monthly salary while living in communal housing.
“It's like a nightmare that I can't even imagine,” said her mother, Janet Rialbuto, 62. told the Washington Post.
“I pray that the person who did this is found. He was the most gentle, kind, caring person. For someone to just walk up and point a gun at him for no reason. It’s beyond my world.”
Police are offering a $25,000 reward to anyone who can provide information about the incident that leads to an arrest.
Police data shows crime is surging in Washington, with homicides increasing by 35% and robberies increasing by 67% from 2022 to 2023.
Margaret McIntyre-Stacey, volunteer corps program director, said: the gunman said I received nothing from Realbuto or his friends.
“They didn't take away anything of value except the most valuable,” she noted.
