Fiancée of NYC murder victim tearfully recalls his life

By Alisha Ebrahimji, CNN

A robbery turned fatal when three gunmen approached two men in New York City and demanded their property, police said.

Milton Grant, 34, was shot in the head early Monday morning as he tried to drive away from the robbers, according to a news release from the New York City Police Department.

Grant’s car then crashed on the side of the street and the man who shot him removed Grant’s watch, ring and a chain from his neck, according to police.

Two other suspects forcibly removed a second, unnamed 33-year-old victim’s chain from his neck and he was shot in the groin as he was trying to run from the scene.

Surveillance video released by NYPD shows what happened from the time the gunmen approached Grant and the 33-year-old victim on a Manhattan street to the moment where one of the suspects entered Grant’s car to take his jewelery after shooting him. Police are asking for the public’s help in identifying the suspects.

The killing comes amid a nationwide surge in violent crime that’s an area of growing concern for the White House. President Joe Biden on Wednesday was set to unveil a comprehensive strategy on violent crime prevention, signing executive actions with a particular focus on tamping down gun crime, according to administration officials.

“My husband liked nice things, Grant’s fiancée, Nixia Jordan told CNN’s John Berman on Wednesday.

“He worked hard for his jewelry, his shoes, his clothes, his cars and for someone to just murder him for his belongings instead of working hard for getting his own, it’s just, it’s a slap in the face, to take a life, just for his jewelry, just for his things,” she said.

The three suspects got into a gray, four-door Honda Accord that was driven by a fourth individual, the NYPD said.

First responders transported the 33-year-old male victim to a local hospital and he was said to be in stable condition.

The early Monday shooting was one of eight that day, including two homicides. This came after a particularly bloody Sunday that saw 10 shooting incidents and 11 victims, according to the NYPD.

‘We talked about having forever together’

“I never thought that my husband would be taken from me in this way,” Jordan said. “We talked about having forever together about raising our kids, we just put them in sports, so now I’m thinking how am I supposed to take them to practice without their dad accompanying me, how am I going to do family vacations without him.”

Jordan described Grant as a very confident man. He would always tell you he’s the greatest cook and was a great father who was a family man and constantly put his kids and family first, she said.

“He always was around his kids, I don’t even know how I’m going to go on. He picked them up from school, he was just a very hands-on father and a very hands-on son. Him and his father’s relationship, they’re thick as thieves and that’s how I wanted my kids to be with him and now they’ve been robbed of that opportunity.”

‘It’s not even safe to go outside the house anymore’

“I have no idea what needs to be done, but something needs to be done,” she said. “It’s not even safe to go outside the house anymore.”

Though not near the rate of the early 1990s, crime in New York City is spiking once again. Shooting incidents this May were up 73% compared to the same period last year, according to the NYPD.

“I think many people are struggling due to Covid, due to unemployment rates, even though we have jobs available, people don’t want to work, they’d rather just collect unemployment,” Jordan said.

“I feel the government needs to put a stop to people making the claims that have the ability to work.”

“Go out and work for your money, go out and work to buy your own things, don’t steal, and don’t kill just to get those things. Work for them just like my husband did.”

In an effort to reduce gun violence and stop the flow of illegaly guns into New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio said the NYPD and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are forming a partnership.

The program will allow ATF agents to be embedded directly within the NYPD, permit members of the NYPD working with the ATF’s gun-tracing team to have federal agent privileges, and will facilitate the sharing of intelligence information between the two agencies, de Blasio said.

CNN’s Artemis Moshtaghian, Laura Ly and Maegan Vazquez contributed to this report.