José Ervin, Jr., an Ohio man who went viral for having the same birthday as his wife and their twins, was fatally shot outside of a Dunkin’ Donuts in Garfield Heights, on Oct. 4.
Ervin and his wife, Scierra, made headlines just last year when they had twins that were born on the couple’s shared birthday of Aug. 18.
Less than two months after the twins’ fiesta birthday, José had been killed. His sister, Chloe Ervin-Dozier, confirmed his death recently to People.
According to the outlet, Chloe said, “José was the light of everybody’s life,” she says. “It’s hard that he’s not with us.”
Garfield Heights investigators have not made any arrests concerning the shooting yet, but the 32-year-old father of two was shot multiple times at a Dunkin’ Donuts located on Turney Road.
Ervin-Dozier, 33, told People that on the night of the shooting, her brother was heading home from a local bar with his best friend in the early morning hours of Friday and the pair headed to a nearby gas station.
Police have identified a car of interest that Was at the Shell station during the shooting.
José was seen on security camera footage approaching a group of people at the station to ask for a cigarette, but the conversation quickly turned into an altercation. Ervin-Dozier explained that her brother quickly backed away when he saw that one of the men in the group was armed with a gun. However, José was shot just a short distance away at a nearby Dunkin’ Donuts.
In a phone interview with People following the incident, Ervin-Dozier said the family has heard no news of any arrests being made. She said, “[The shooter] chased my brother down like he was prey.”
José was transported to Marymount Hospital with multiple gunshot wounds and eventually passed away due to his injuries at 3:34 A.M. on Oct. 4.
José’s death came as he and his wife were looking to grow their family. Scierra is currently pregnant with their third child and the pair just celebrated their shared birthday with their twins.
Ervin-Dozier stated that her brother’s wish and life had already come true in 2023 because “All José wanted to do was to be a father.”
The family also recently put down a deposit on a new home in Parma, Ohio, before José’s death, but now 10 weeks pregnant Scierra doesn’t want to live alone in the home.
Ervin-Dozier stated that the family doesn’t yet know if the baby will be a boy or a girl, but the couple picked out a name before José’s death that would work either way. They want to name the baby Terry after José’s grandfather and aunt, “but [José] was banking on Terry being another boy.”
A GoFundMe has been launched to help cover the costs of José Ervin, Jr.’s funeral and to help support his wife and children — A’Ria and José Ervin III. So far, the fundraiser has raised $12,325 of their $20,000 goal.
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