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Funeral Held For FDNY Firefighter Killed In Apparent Road Rage Attack

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – A funeral was held Thursday for a firefighter killed in an apparent road rage incident in Brooklyn.

FDNY Firefighter Faizal Coto
Faizal Coto (Photo: FDNY)

Faizal Coto was laid to rest around 11 a.m. at Leone Funeral Home Inc. in Park Slope.

"What a sad, a really sad morning. What a wonderful outpouring of love for a really nice young man who was just starting out his career, three years into his career with the department, senselessly murdered," said Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro. "And now we have a family who has lost their son, their brother, we have a firehouse full of people who lost a very good friend, and we have a city who lost a public servant who would've served the city well for many, many, many years. And all of that over some incident of road rage, and who can understand it."

Web Extra: FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro On Faizal Coto

The 33-year-old was killed over the weekend on the Belt Parkway. He was found lying on the ground next to his damaged 2008 Ford Mustang early Sunday morning.

A 911 caller said there had been a crash, but when police arrived, the other vehicle was nowhere to be found.

The city's medical examiner determined Coto's death was a homicide caused by blunt force trauma to his head.

Joseph Demond, an alleged gang member, was arrested Tuesday and charged in the case.

Coto spent the past three years at Engine 245 in Brooklyn and was also an aspiring rapper and hip-hop artist.

Coto's brother is also a firefighter, serving with Ladder 122 in Brooklyn.

 

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