Douglas Miguel Rodriguez was a good man.
His wife Martha Freire will tell you, assuring you it’s not just the hyperbole of a loving spouse. His younger brother, William, a pastor in their native Guayaguil, Ecuador, will say how he looked up to Douglas as a man of faith who still sought advice from his big brother. Douglas’ 12-year-old daughter Amy will tell you how much she misses her father.
He’s been gone a full year now.
Just after noon Dec. 10, 2019, minutes after Rodriguez arrived at his job at the JC Kosher Supermarket in Jersey City, a violent rampage descended upon the grocery store, the city and Rodriguez.
That day, a couple, armed with a cache of high-powered weapons and fueled by anti-Semitic hatred, unloaded on the store, sending a hail of searing hot lead through the storefront, ripping through the inside as children from the neighboring yeshiva screamed and fled and customers leapt and scrambled for what cover they could find.
Amid the gunfire, Rodriguez, a grocery store clerk known for always having a smile on his face and for his big dreams in his adoptive country, made a choice most have never had to make. As the shots tore through the store, Rodriguez held a back door open for a customer to escape and protected as many as 50 children from the neighboring yeshiva from the gunfire.
The choice would cost Rodriguez his life.
But despite the pain and grief, the sacrifice was no surprise to his wife. It was just what a good man would do.
“Sometimes they say a spouse will exaggerate,” Freire told NJ Advance Media. “But he was a good person. He’s not of this world. He was a good husband. A good brother. A good father.”
Douglas Miguel Rodriguez Barzola, or Miguelito as his wife would call him, was one of the victims in the shooting rampage that started at Bayview Cemetery and ended little more than a mile away at the grocery. The shooting left six people dead and the second biggest city in New Jersey gripped with fear and numbed by shock.
Among the dead were Moshe Deutsch, 24, a Hasidic man who was visiting from Brooklyn; Leah Minda Ferencz, 33, co-owner of the Kosher grocery store with her husband, and Rodriguez, 49. Also killed was Jersey City Detective Joseph Seals, who approached the shooters at Bayview Cemetery minutes before they approached the store.
The shooters, David Nathaniel Anderson, 47, and Francine Graham, 50, were also killed.
A year later
A year later, life for Freire and her daughter Amy remains difficult, the wounds scarred over but still tender. The reminders of Rodriguez are everywhere in the Harrison home the three shared.
One day it was a water bottle that Rodriguez would use all the time, said Freire. Another day it was prompted by doing laundry, a chore that Rodriguez would always take on, she said.
“It’s been really tough without his presence,” said Freire. “His support. His company. We did everything together. We see him and miss him in things we never thought we would.”
Douglas Miguel Rodriguez, 49, was one of the victims in the 2019 Jersey City shooting at JC Kosher Supermarket. Pictured, from left to right, Rodriguez, his wife Martha and their daughter Amy.
Living without Rodriguez has been tough for Amy, who was especially close to her father, said Freire. After nearly 10 years of difficulties trying to have a child, Freire gave birth to Amy, earning her her middle name: Milagros, or miracle.
Amy and her father were best friends, said Freire. With her father gone, Amy deals with bouts of sadness, yearning to see him one more time. But a year later, the young girl has steeled herself, learning from her father, hoping to lend strength to her mother as they both go through the grief.
Thousands of miles away, in Guayaquil, Ecuador, Rodriguez’s brother William wishes he could talk to and see his brother and his sweet smile and ask him for advice. He’s often reminded that his brother is no longer around, when he wants to share news about his family in Ecuador with his brother in New Jersey.
“For us, it’s tough,” said William Rodriguez. “It all seems a lie. It seems like it’s another event in another place. One that couldn’t possibly have happened to us.”
“He’s a good man. A good son. A good brother. He gave his life to save others. I just hope he’s remembered as someone who gave his life to save others.”
Back home
Rodriguez always dreamed of moving back home.
Years ago, Rodriguez and his family came to New Jersey seeking opportunities, finding work where he could. But his plan was always to return to his beloved Guayaquil.
After his death, Rodriguez’s family hoped to fulfill his wishes and bring his body back to the city known as the Pearl of the Pacific. With the help of the consulate of Ecuador, Rodriguez’s body was flown back to Guayaquil and he was laid to rest alongside his father, Douglas.
Douglas Miguel Rodriguez, 49, was one of the victims in the 2019 Jersey City shooting at JC Kosher Supermarket. Per his wishes, Rodriguez was buried back in Ecuador, alongside his father.
It’s a small comfort to Rodriguez’s family members, who are left living without a husband and a father. For Freire, who’s been in love with Rodriguez since they met in high school, Rodriguez was special. Through his calm and steady demeanor, Rodriguez knew nothing else but to love. And to protect.
And to be a good man.
“He was special,” said Freire. “All I got from him was love.”
READ Officer Down, our special report on the one year anniversary of the killing of Det. Joseph Seals.
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Rodrigo Torrejon may be reached at rtorrejon@njadvancemedia.com.
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