A young man who was once a rising baseball star in the Dominican Republic was fatally shot on a Brooklyn street earlier this month. His family says his life took a tragic turn after moving to the U.S., where he lost his job and began spending time with the wrong people.
Wilky Vladimil Toribio Perez, 23, was shot in the shoulder on Pine St. near Etna St. in Cypress Hills around 2:25 a.m. on August 10, according to police.
Back home in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, Toribio Perez was known as one of the best pitchers on his team, his family said. But his dream of a baseball career ended when his father left to immigrate to New York.
“He was one of the best,” said his 29-year-old stepmother, Kirsy. “But when his father came here, he was sad. He stopped playing.”
Four years ago, Toribio Perez joined his father in New York. He earned the nickname Mil Seteciento for how fast he rode his bike, and often stayed with his father in Cypress Hills, not far from where he was killed.
“He used to come home, take a shower, eat, and then go out,” his stepmother recalled.
For a while, he worked as a parking lot security guard, but after losing his job a few months ago, his father noticed changes.
“He used to be a good boy but he got bad friends in the last months,” his father, who gave only the name Toribio, told the Daily News in Spanish. “I’m very hopeful the police [find the killer]. I need justice.”
Toribio Perez also loved riding his Kawasaki Ninja motorcycle, often racing and doing tricks. The bike went missing hours before his death, leaving his father to wonder if its disappearance was connected to the shooting.
He was rushed to Brookdale University Hospital, but doctors could not save him.
Police say no arrests have been made yet, but they are searching for two men who fled the scene on a moped.
“I really loved him and he really loved me,” said his 25-year-old sister, Gissell Toribio. “We were so close. He was my favorite brother. I want the person that did this caught.”
Toribio Perez was one of two men killed citywide during a violent six-hour stretch that also left eight others wounded.
According to NYPD statistics, shootings in the 75th Precinct, which covers Cypress Hills, are nearly the same as last year: 34 people have been shot so far in 2025, compared to 35 by this time in 2024. But homicides in the precinct are slightly up, with nine this year compared to seven last year.
Citywide, shootings have dropped significantly. So far in 2025, 530 people have been shot through August 10 — a 22% decrease from 678 last year. Homicides are also at a record low: 188 so far this year compared to 246 during the same period in 2024, a 24% decline.
