JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Detectives with the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office are investigating and searching for answers as family members and friends of a Southside man mourn his death.
Saturday at about 10:30 p.m., 43-year-old Kristo Binjaku was shot to death at a laundromat on Toledo Road.
Recommended Videos
Loved ones said Binjaku was well known and respected in Jacksonville's Albanian community. His friends told Channel 4 the 43-year-old father of two did what he could to assure his family had the chance to experience the American dream.
"He was hardworking. He worked two jobs -- sometimes three," said Binjaku's friend Vladimir Zyka.
"He came from Albania over here so he could give them a good education and living the American life over here," said another friend of Binjaku, Alex.
It was while he was working one of his three jobs that someone ended Binjaku's life for what Alex said might have been a few dollars.
Binjaku was gunned down in front of his 13-year-old son during what may have been a robbery attempt. However, according to authorities, the gunman left the laundromat without the money.
The fatal shooting was one that doesn't make sense to those in Binjaku's community, where loved ones said the man did not have a bone to pick with anyone.
"Everybody knows him from our community. He's so nice -- good people," Zyka said.
The sheriff's office has not made an arrest in the shooting, and Binjaku's friends and family said they want to make sure whoever committed the crime is caught. They have come up with their own reward -- a $20,000 reward for anyone who can help lead authorities to capture Binjaku's killer.
"We have a very tight community. We're going to do everything we can, so those guys get behind bars. We're not going to let it go. We came here for a better life and we're not going to let somebody ruin it for no reason," Alex said.
Anyone with information about the fatal shooting is asked to call Crimestoppers at 866-845-TIPS.