State woman slain in N.Y. remembered as a true friend

Erica Lopez, a 19-year-old Norwalk woman who was shot and killed early Friday in the Flatiron District of New York City, was remembered Sunday as an artist, friend and hero.

A New York man stands accused in her death. Ruddy Osias, 27, of Queens, is charged with second-degree murder and attempted second-degree murder, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office said Sunday.

The shooting came after an altercation at a party and also wounded Lopez’s boyfriend, 21-year-old Andres Arias, according to news reports, some of which said she pushed him out of harm’s way.

Osias was arrested Saturday.

Lopez “brought warmth — this radiance that filled up a room,” said one of her friends, who described the victim as an artist and Norwalk native, and asked not to be identified. Members of Lopez’s family could not be reached, and news outlets reported that the family had declined interview requests.

An art gallery in Norwalk said Lopez had volunteered at many of its opening receptions and did modeling work.

“It’s painful and frustrating. I will keep fighting against guns,” the Facebook page for Rene Soto Gallery on Wall Street said in a post Friday.

Lopez and Arias left a birthday party at the 230 Fifth Rooftop bar around midnight Friday after a dispute broke out with another group, the New York Post reported.

Arias told the Daily Mail the argument was over a woman in the other group groping women at the party. As he and Lopez left, the group allegedly followed them outside and began shouting at them from two vehicles.

A witness who was on the sidewalk told police Osias parked his car along the curb and fired a gun in the air before shooting at the group of about five people on the sidewalk, according to the criminal complaint. The witness was grazed in his left ribs, and a second person was shot in the chest.

The complaint, which does not name Lopez, said the person with the chest wound was rushed to Bellevue

Hospital and was pronounced dead from a gunshot wound to the heart.

Arias told the Daily Mail that Lopez shoved him out of the way during the shooting.

“She died a hero — she saved this kid’s life,” said Lopez’s friend, who said Arias had confirmed she pushed him out of the way.

“It just reminded me of who she was to the very last moment,” the friend added.

He said Arias was hit “in the torso,” and was doing well.

Osias, who was also charged with first-degree reckless endangerment in the shooting, was being held Sunday, said Naomi Puzzello, a spokeswoman for the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. He is due to appear in court on July 28.

A crowdfunding page for Lopez’s funeral expenses had raised more than $15,000 as of Sunday morning.

Her funeral is scheduled for 10 a.m. Wednesday at Raymond Funeral Home in Historic Norwalk, with a graveside service to follow at 1:15 p.m. at Union Cemetery in Norwalk.

Contributed photo Erica Lopez, a 19-year-old Norwalk woman who was shot and killed early Friday in the Flatiron District of New York City, was remembered Sunday as an artist, friend and hero.