Friends and fellow activists in the Springfield area are remembering Jafet Robles.
The 33-year-old organizer with the group Neighbor to Neighbor was found dead in Chicopee's Szot Park on Monday, and had been shot multiple times.
Springfield City Councilor Adam Gomez said Robles fought for a minimum wage hike, criminal justice reform and neighborhood issues in the city's North End. But Gomez also recalled a trip they took to Washington DC.
"We brought 122 signed petitions for the freedom of Oscar López Rivera, and President Obama [later] released Oscar López Rivera and we got to bring Oscar López Rivera to our community and walk him around our community together and show him everything we fought for," Gomez said Tuesday.
López Rivera is a Puerto Rican nationalist who was imprisoned for more than 35 years.
Robles leaves behind four children.
Gomez said neither he nor Robles' family understand what happened to him. They're urging anyone who does to contact police.