The Meals-on-Wheels driver senselessly gunned down during a Brooklyn delivery had immigrated to the United States from his native Tajikistan two decades ago to escape the dangerous, gun-ridden climate of his war-torn country, his devastated family said yesterday.
Emanuel Aminov had served in the Army in Tajikistan, and “the country was going through a bad time,” said his nephew, Arthur Leviyeva.
“There was a war and a lot of fighting; that’s why he came to this country,” Leviyeva said. “He thought it would be safe here. But now, look what happened. They killed him for no reason.”
Aminov, a 55-year-old grandfather, was shot once in the chest Monday morning in the lobby of a Brownsville House building after delivering lunch to two elderly women. Police believe robbery may have been the motive.
Aminov began delivering meals three months ago for the Jewish Association for Services for the Aged. His funeral is scheduled for today.
Additional reporting by John Doyle and Jamie Schram