'We don’t deserve this.' Family of Bronx Uber driver killed on New Year’s Day speaks out
The NYPD released a photo of the man authorities say pulled the trigger.
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The NYPD announced a new break in the case of a Bronx Uber driver who was killed on New Year’s Day.
The department released a photo of the man authorities say pulled the trigger.
One week after the deadly shooting, the family of 55-year-old Issa Isac-Mbolo broke their silence to speak exclusively with News 12.
“For me to stand here in the news about a shooting to my family member, I would have never thought of it,” said his aunt, Abibata Zono.
Zono said she is still trying to wrap her head around the unthinkable: the loss of her humble, hardworking nephew.
“In the New Year’s, too, he does not deserve this. The whole community does not deserve this. We don’t,” she said.
For Mbolo’s younger brother, Mounirou Zorome, the shock has not worn off.
“We just don’t have words to express, the anger and frustration that this incident created,” Zorome said.
Police said Mbolo was headed home early that morning after a long night of driving Uber when his life was cut short.
“I spoke with him on New Year’s Day, and he was at work. It was busy. It was a busy night. 'Oh, I’ll call you back. I’ll call you back,' you know and he finally called me we spoke about some commission he was supposed to give me, you know, to take back home with me and that was our last conversation,” Zorome said.
Investigators said a road-rage incident turned deadly. Officers found the 55-year-old shot in the head inside his car near Morris Avenue and the Cross Bronx Expressway.
“My brother is a good person," Zorome said. "He’s well known by the community to be always helpful. You know, he did nothing to deserve this. He was just working in the New Year and just trying to provide for his family and his life is just gone, just like that."
“It’s a sad story, but we need the guy to be caught, the criminal,” Zono said.
Police said they are now searching for 24-year-old Ehinel Troncoso in connection with the shooting.
“He’s on the lose you know, it can be happening to somebody else and we also as a family we scared. We don’t know if the guy could commit another crime against any of us,” Zorome said.
A witness reported the shooting began after damage was noticed to a car outside a bar in Mott Haven.
“I don’t think it was targeted," Zorome said. "He has no issue with anybody. You know, this guy’s been living here for many, many years, never had any single issue with anybody at all. You know, by the police report, this is a random guy who got involved with my brother and just shot him. He’s a criminal. He doesn’t care about taking people’s lives."
Zorome said his older brother lived in the Bronx for more than 20 years, traveling back and forth to West Africa and working long hours to support his wife and four children.
“He has a 4-year-old. One that’s 19 he’s in the university, he’s getting his degree, so he needs a lot of support because Issa, he’s the one providing for his education,” he said.
The New York State Federation of Taxi Drivers is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest. Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). Spanish speakers can call 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). Tips can also be submitted online through Crime Stoppers or on X @NYPDTips. All calls are confidential.
The New York State Federation of Taxi Drivers along with Uber, Citizens for Affordable rates, and other donors raised nearly $11,000 to help Isaac-Mbolo's family.
