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Brother's Heroic Act Sparks Queens Vigil

QUEENS, N.Y. (CBS 2) -- Friends and family gathered at a murder scene Saturday night after Dario Paiva was fatally stabbed by a group of men on a subway platform – in an act of sacrifice to save his younger brother.

"He had a good heart," said Gloria Santiago, the victim's cousin. "He was family oriented. He didn't deserve this."

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Paiva, 27, was home late Friday night when he got a frantic phone call. His younger brother, Khristian Paiva, said he needed help fending off four attackers outside a video store on Jamaica Ave. near the 85th Street subway station.

"One pulled me to the side and tried to pull a knife on me," said Paiva. "That's when my brother showed up."

When Dario arrived to help his younger brother, the suspects ran up the stairs, and the two brothers followed them so they could get a description to give to police.

But the suspects' knives came out, and Dario performed a heroic act. Unfortunately, it would bet he last act of his life.

"Dario told me to run," Khristian said. "He pushed me out of the way and they stabbed him right in the heart."

Dario had a long-term girlfriend, no kids, and recently left a job in banking.

"We just want Dario's memory to stay alive," said Santiago. "And not to happen again to anyone else."

In a quest for justice, grieving relatives tell the suspects to turn themselves in.

(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

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