S. Phila. neighborhood mourns slain grocer

Although Domingo Rodriguez's corner grocery in Southwest Philadelphia had been open only a few months, he and his family already were well-known and liked in the neighborhood.

Yesterday, residents were left to show their appreciation by contributing to a sidewalk memorial outside the shuttered bodega where a masked robber killed Rodriguez on Monday night.

Rodriguez, 53, was shot in front of his wife, who also was working at 7 p.m. when the gunman walked into the Peralta Grocery and went behind the counter, through the security barrier that had been left unlocked.

Police said the gunman ordered Rodriguez to open the cash register and shot him in the chest when he did not comply.

The gunman then went through Rodriguez's pockets, taking "a lot of money," said Capt. James Clark, head of the Homicide Unit.

He also ordered Rodriguez's wife to open the register, but she was unable to do so, Clark said.

The suspect fled the store, leaving the wife physically unharmed.

Rodriguez, a father of two, was declared dead at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania less than an hour later.

The gunman wore some type of sheet over his face, Clark said. Detectives have only a sketchy description of him: 6 feet tall, thin build, light skin. The store had security cameras, but they did not appear to be working at the time.

Rodriguez arrived in Philadelphia about six months ago, after working as a cabdriver in New York and North Jersey, said Danilo Burgos, president of the Dominican Grocers Association.

He said that many immigrants come here because the city is less expensive than the New York area and fulfilling their dreams of owning a home and a business is "very real here."

"From the little bit I spoke to him, he had the typical American dream," Burgos said. He said Rodriguez had immigrated from the Dominican Republic about 20 years ago.

Despite being new to the city, Rodriguez quickly had become a popular figure in a residential and diverse section of Elmwood. His store still has the words new management painted on the front.

"Everybody in the neighborhood knew Papi," said George Turner, who lives nearby.

Turner, a fighter and trainer, said Rodriguez had put pictures of him boxing in the store.

"That's crazy. When my daughter and mom called me up, I was like, what? Papi?" he said, recalling his reaction to Rodriguez's death.

One neighborhood woman, who gave only her first name, Brady, stopped at the store yesterday to leave flowers.

"I was just so upset," she said. "He was so nice, and his wife was so nice. It's just so tragic."

Anyone with information on the shooting is asked to call the Homicide Unit at 215-686-3334, -3335, or -3336.