BUFFALO, N.Y. — The last thing Andre McNeil did before he was shot dead by racist activists was to buy his son a birthday cake, his family said.
McNeill, 53, and his fiancé Tracy Masiurewitz celebrated their son’s birthday in Auburn on Friday before heading to Buffalo for a second celebration on Saturday.
As family and friends prepared to throw a party for their 3-year-old boy, McNeil headed to the Tops Friendly Market grocery store just a block away, Christopher Massiurewitz said.
Two hours later, his fiancé told the family that something was wrong, and McNeil should have been back by then, her father said.
McNeill was one of 10 blacks shot dead by an 18-year-old shooter who drove from his Bloom County home to a supermarket to kill blacks, officials said.
According to Tracey Maciulewicz’s cousin and aunt GoFundMe page, Mackniel was a stay-at-home mom. Tracey Maciulewicz works as a pastry chef, her father said.
His son and fiancé, along with other victims’ families, met with President Joe Biden on Tuesday, according to GoFundMe. His son was given the president’s coin and a hug.
According to his Facebook page, McNeill grew up in Buffalo and attended South Park High School.
Ashley Freeman recalled this week that she dated McNeil for about four years.
“We met at the laundromat,” she told Syracuse.com. post standard. “We were both doing laundry.”
Freeman said she had a two-year-old daughter at the time McNeill took her in as his own.
Freeman and her daughter moved out of state in 2015, and her relationship ended with McNeill.
“He was always there for what she needed,” Freeman said. He called her almost every day, she said.
Andre McNeil, 53, was killed Saturday, May 14, 2022, when a gunman opened fire at a Tops supermarket in Buffalo. (Courtesy Ashley Freeman)
Mackniel and Tracey Maciulewicz were due to return to their home in Auburn on Sunday, Tracey’s cousin Kim Netti wrote on the GoFundMe page.
“Now she has to go home to Auburn without her partner and soulmate,” Nettie wrote, adding that the drive would probably be silent except for Tracy and Andre’s son asking where his father was. added.
Nettie writes that Tracy Masiurewitz fears for the future now that she is a single mother.
“She is paralyzed by the reality of her missing partner,” she wrote. “I am paralyzed by fear of what the future holds.”
Andre and Tracy’s son’s reality has also changed, she said.
“He has to tie every birthday for the rest of his life to the murder of his father,” Nettie said.
“How am I going to tell my son that Daddy isn’t coming home?” Tracey Maciulewicz wrote on Facebook. She said, “How is she going to be successful as a mother?
twenty three
At least 10 killed in shooting at Buffalo Tops grocery store
Staff writer Rylee Kirk covers breaking news, crime, and public safety.Have a tip, story idea, photo, question, or comment? rkirk@syracuse.com.
