Slain Navy Vet Had Dreams of Becoming a Husband and Father — and Family Says He Was Road Rage Victim

A U.S. Navy veteran was killed in an apparent road rage shooting this weekend.

New York City Police said Keino Campbell, 27, was found “unconscious and unresponsive” inside a 2012 gray Infiniti on Givan and Palmer avenues in the Bronx just after 2 a.m. on Saturday, June 14.

Police said Campbell was shot three times in the chest and was transported to Jacobi Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.

According to a GoFundMe page, Campbell’s aunt said his death was the “result of a senseless act of road rage.” 

On Monday, June 16, police said Michael Aracena, 20, was arrested and charged with murder, manslaughter and criminal possession of a weapon in connection with the death of Campbell.

“I would rather my son be alive now than me because I know he would do such great things in this world if he had a chance,” Campbell’s mother Suzette Thomas told the New York Daily News. “I’m so heartbroken.”

Campbell’s dream was to work at the White House in security. “This boy always thought ahead because he wanted to make sure his family wasn’t in poverty. He had big dreams,” Thomas said, per the Daily News.

The GoFundMe page described Campbell as a “kind and humble young man with a calm spirit, a bright future, and dreams of becoming a husband and father one day.”

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“His life was filled with purpose, and his heart was filled with love — for his family, his country, and his vision for the future,” his aunt wrote.

“Our hearts are shattered. Keino was not just a nephew to me — he was a light in our family. Intelligent, sweet, and deeply loved by everyone who knew him.”

Campbell’s aunt said their family had lost three family members in the last three months.

“The weight of this pain is overwhelming,” she wrote. “Keino will never be forgotten. His memory will live on in our hearts forever, and this loss will change our family forever.”