Ryan Realbuto, Pittsford, upstate NY recent college graduate of St. Bonaventure University shot and killed in attempted robbery while volunteering in Washington D.C with Capuchin Franciscan Corps. No arrests.
A volunteer from upstate New York who was working with at-risk youths in Washington, D.C., was shot and killed while walking home on Thursday night.
Ryan Realbuto, of Pittsford, New York, was killed during a suspected robbery attempt on South Dakota Avenue NE. Authorities were searching for a dark-colored Honda Accord in connection with the killing. To date no suspects have been identified nor any arrests made.
Relabuto, 23, a 2023 graduate of St. Bonaventure University had been in DC for six months and was working with the Capuchin Franciscan Volunteer Corps.
Killed trying to save those who would kill him
Thursday night just after 10 p.m., January 18th, Realbuto was returning from an event at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Shaw. It was a Holy Hour, a period of adoration of the Eucharist, followed by a mixer for young Catholics in the area.
He and two friends were almost home as they walked from the Fort Totten Metro station to the group home they shared.
As the trio were walking along South Dakota Avenue, a car pulled up and someone inside asked the group for money, NBC4 reported.
Realbuto was shot upon telling the vehicle occupants that he had no money.
‘We live close by and we heard a shot,’ neighbor Sara Almgren told the outlet.
‘We ran outside and we saw a young man over close to the McDonald’s fall over,’ Almgren said.
Cops received multiple 911 reports of the shooting. Almgren tried to aid Realbuto until an ambulance arrived. He was pronounced dead at a hospital, Metro DC police said.
‘Deeply caring guy who always worked very hard to understand what people were saying,’
Almgren said she has ‘never felt unsafe’ or ‘scared’ in the neighborhood.
Part of the goal of Realbuto’s program is for the volunteers to live in the communities they serve.
‘He was a deeply caring guy who always worked very hard to understand what people were saying,’ said Brother Stephen Cantwell of the Catholic volunteer organization Capuchin Corps.
Realbuto had been volunteering with the organization in D.C.
‘They do different ministries. Ryan was at Don Bosco Crista Reyes High School. He was helping and assisting with the students there,’ Cantwell said.
‘We in the friars live in a lot rougher areas than this, so we’re kind of surprised that this is where this happened,’ Cantwell added.
Family left reeling
Among the order with which he volunteered, Capuchin Corps contemplated their mission.
‘Pray for everybody, even those who do these acts, because they still have a shot at repentance like everybody else,’ Cantwell said of the group.
News of Ryan’s death led to the recent college graduate’s family reeling.
‘It’s like a nightmare you can’t even imagine,’ Ryan’s mother Janet Realbuto, 62, told the Washington Post.
‘I am so praying they find whoever did this. He was the most gentle, kindest, caring person. For someone to just walk up and pull a gun on him for no reason is beyond my world.’
Police are offering $25,000 reward for anyone who can provide information about the case that leads to an arrest and conviction.
Washington has been besieged with surging crime with homicides up 35% and robbery up 67% between 2022 and 2023, according to police data.
The volunteer corps’ program director, Margaret McIntyre-Stacy, said the gunman didn’t take anything from Realbuto or his friends.
‘They didn’t take anything of value, except the most valuable thing,’ she noted.
