We all tend to
feel at home and safe in our own neighborhoods. Even when we hear about crimes
committed, we feel safe walking on our streets, going to our shuls, and letting
our children play outside. After all, crimes happen, but they happen to others,
not to us!
Last year, three
days after Lag B’Omer, our illusion of safety was shattered. A crime happened
in our neighborhood, on our streets, to a visitor in our community! Efraim
Gordon, was murdered in front of the home of his aunt, Mrs. Reyder, right on
Fords Lane, across the street from Etz Chaim. He was a visitor from Eretz
Yisrael, a baal teshuva of two years,
and was here for a wedding of a cousin. He was driving his cousin’s car and
coming home from sheva brachos when
he was murdered on the steps of the Reyders’ house.
Efraim was
actually murdered twice that night! The thugs who shot him murdered his body,
and the rumors that spread about him murdered his soul. Immediately after the
murder, when the news started to spread, people began talking. The more people
talked, the more embellishments were added to the story. It makes people feel
less vulnerable when they can explain why a person was murdered. Some said he
got mixed up with the wrong crowd and they followed him home. He had a lot of
money on him, and the murderers were trying to steal the money, others added. The
stories spread very quickly, and Efraim’s reputation was ruined.
“None of the
rumors was true,” says Dovid Reyder and his sister Sara Marshall, cousins of Efraim.
“Efraim was a sweet, pure baal teshuva who did not speak English very
well. He probably did not follow the demands of the criminals because he did
not understand what they had said. Dovid adds, “He was in my house and left in
my car, which I lent him. We had just spoken about our plans for the next day
and where we were going to daven in the morning. After our conversation, I hung
up and went to bed, and Efraim got out of my car. He was accosted by these four
murderers, who murdered him in order to steal his car. My mother heard screams and
then heard a gunshot. When she opened the door, Efraim was lying there unconscious
and covered in blood!”
Three of the four
criminals have been caught, and one has already pleaded guilty. The maximum
sentence that they can receive in the state of Maryland is 60 years. They were
juveniles, and one actually lived on Fords Lane. After they killed Efraim, they
drove through our neighborhood, threw the gun out of the car on Bancroft, and
ended up at the Shell station on Greenspring Avenue. Many of their actions were
caught on security cameras along the way.
Sara Marshall
says, “Do you know that Efraim was murdered in an attempted carjacking? Do you
know that the reason the murderers needed another car was because they were too
squished in their smaller car while out committing crimes? Efraim was shot and
killed because on our streets roam people who value a car over a life. Are we
okay with that? Efraim died because we are complacent with the crime where we
live!
“Today, Wednesday,
June 22, there was a court hearing. My family appreciates the handful of
individuals who came out to look the murderer and judge in the eyes. I had
hoped the community would have cared more. This was a chance for our voice to
be heard. The shooter had five people representing him, and Efraim had 12. I
want you to know that there is another chance for our community to show up.
There will be another trial or plea hearing in November, bringing the
ringleader of the night to justice. Please make an effort to come. Please reach
out to efraimchai@gmail.com if
you want to be in the know about the next trial/hearing.
The Reyder family
has written a sefer Torah in honor of
Efraim. “Efraim’s life ended here in Baltimore, although he did not live here,”
says Sarah. “It is a zechus and
responsibility for the community of Baltimore to continue his legacy.”
There will be a
big hachnasas sefer Torah on Sunday, July 10 at 2:00 p.m. The finishing
of the Torah will take place in front of the Reyder’s house, in the exact spot
where Efraim was murdered. The dancing will take place from Fords Lane to Bnai
Jacob Shaarei Zion. There will be a live band, children’s activities, a hot
buffet, and many dignitaries attending. The final destination of the sefer Torah is a new minyan that has already begun in Efraim’s
memory at Chabad at UMBC, started by Dovid Reyder.
The Reyder family
is hoping that the community will come out and join in the festivities in honor
of Efraim Gordon’s life. They are setting up for a big crowd and feel it would
proper if the community made the effort to attend and show their support and
care for a wonderful young man who lost his life so tragically.
