Father Shot and Killed in Front of His Family in New Jersey: Witnesses

A father was shot and killed in front of his wife and 8-year-old son in New Jersey in an apparent robbery late Monday, witnesses and family members say.

The man's godfather, Alberto Alvarez, said one of the victim's relatives watched from a window while the shooting unfolded inside a courtyard area on Grove Street in Irvington. Alvarez said the victim parked his car to close an electronic gate when two suspects came in demanding money from him and his wife. He offered up a cellphone, but the suspect shot him in the head, Alvarez said. 

Friends, family and officials confirmed the victim's identity as Marcos Angamarca-Yupa, a 29-year-old construction worker from Ecuador.

Police and the Essex County Prosecutor's Office swarmed the area, video shows. 

A next-door neighbor, who didn't want to be identified, tells NBC 4 New York that she heard shots ring out and then came outside and saw the victim on the ground with his wife and son hysterically crying over him.

"I saw the wife on the floor hysterically crying and his son hysterical," she said. "I just saw him laying there and I called 911.”

A crowd of people were seen praying and lighting candles in the area early Tuesday. It wasn't clear if there were any suspects in custody.

Yupa's wife Carmen Huerta could barely speak between sobs at her home Tuesday, saying, "This can't be happening to me." 

"I can't believe somone has done this," Yupa's sister cried. "To rob him for a couple of dollars is no reason to take his life." 

The family's landlord, Pedro Quezada, said Yupa was a "great father."

"They went everywhere together, they were such a nice family. The little child, he saw everything, and it's hard," Quezada said as he started to cry. 

A spokeswoman with the prosecutor's office said they are still gathering the details in the case and will release more information as soon as possible.