LYNN — Friends are remembering Anthony Betancourt, the 32-year-old Lynn man shot and killed on Williams Avenue early Wednesday morning, as a “good guy” who was all about his son.
“He was like an older brother to me,” said Xavier Rosado, a friend of Betancourt for 15 years. “He would do anything for his son. He was just a good guy. I definitely can’t imagine that he did anything to deserve this.”
Rosado, 25, and his brother, Julio Jimenez, 27, grew up with Betancourt around where the homicide took place, but it’s unclear where he was currently living. On Wednesday afternoon, they were standing near a memorial with candles that was set up for their friend at the scene of the shooting.
“He was a hardworking man,” Jimenez said.
Betancourt loved dogs. He used to work at North Shore Animal Hospital, where he would walk and take care of the pets, according to Jimenez.
Shortly after midnight, Lynn Police responded to 72 Williams Ave., and found Betancourt on the sidewalk shot in the back. He was taken to Salem Hospital where he was pronounced dead, according to the Essex County District Attorney’s office.
The homicide is under investigation and no arrests have been made.
A neighbor who asked to remain anonymous said he woke up to police lights and didn’t know what was going on. He just moved to Lynn from Reading and said the neighborhood is usually quiet. He called the shooting “sad.”
