A Rikers Island correction officer known for his generosity to friends and neighbors was shot to death early Saturday at a party in a Queens hotel room, the police said yesterday.
The officer, Robert Ross, 39, was shot at 3:05 a.m. and died in Room 1009 of the Sheraton LaGuardia East hotel on 39th Avenue in Flushing, the police said. The killer escaped. Mr. Ross was unarmed, the police said, and officers recovered a gun thought to be the killer’s weapon.
The police did not provide details about the nature of the party, but neighbors said yesterday that it was a gathering of friends from in and around the Bland Houses around the corner, where Mr. Ross lived. Officials said the crime did not involve his employment by the Department of Correction.
Police officers surrounded a building in the Bland Houses last evening, apparently searching for a suspect, but left without making an arrest.
Mr. Ross became a correction officer in 1995 but had been on sick leave in recent weeks, a department spokesman said.
Friends said that his weight had increased to more than 400 pounds, and that he suffered from asthma and shortness of breath and sometimes used oxygen.
He lived with his mother and his 9-year-old son, and friends said he was quick to lend money to acquaintances, sometimes to a fault.
“He was a landmark,” said Percynthia Brown, 65. “People thought he was the First National City Bank. People would borrow from him and not pay him back. He loved to play dominoes and cards with friends and talk and have fun and smile.”
His sister, Dana Ross, 25, said he worked hard on Rikers Island. “To get up every day and do something like that, you have to be committed,” she said. “It’s not the easiest job, but he did it.”