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There was always a touch of purple on Dzhoy Zuckerman’s bikes.
Zuckerman always made a point to add their favorite color to the bikes they renovated, whether that was purple handlebars or wheels. It was a common sight to see a flash of purple as Zuckerman regularly zipped through the District’s streets on a bike.
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The 27-year-old, who was a fixture in the city’s biking community, was fatally shot early Saturday morning in Northwest Washington. Police said they responded to the 6100 block of Third Street NW about 12:08 a.m., where they found Zuckerman. Police said they were pronounced dead at the scene.
On Sunday evening, about 100 people decked out in purple got onto their bikes and started out on an approximately 30-mile ride in their memory. The ride started and ended at Conte’s Bike Shop in the Navy Yard area.
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Sabrina Valenti, founder at DC Queer Bikes and a friend of Zuckerman’s, said purple was reflective of Zuckerman’s personality — charismatic, friendly and jovial. Zuckerman, who used they/them pronouns, always knew how to make her laugh. She said she hoped that Sunday’s ride would bring bits of Zuckerman back to life.
“You’re able to put a smile on your face if you would have the worst day of your entire life. That’s like, the grand irony of it all,” Valenti said before the ride began. “Like when I go to this bike ride, I’m going to be like — where’s Dzhoy?”
Zuckerman, who was killed just a few blocks from their home, worked as a delivery cyclist for UrbanStems. They also did clerical work at a D.C. courier firm, Washington Express.
Friends and loved ones said Zuckerman was a fixture in D.C’s. biking scene, spending most of their days biking. They biked every day to work and also led a weekly 30-mile bike ride throughout the District called the Purple Ride. Their personal Instagram biography reads “Kill cars. ACAB. Bike every day.”
Paul Yepez, a close friend of Zuckerman’s, organized the Sunday evening ride in hopes that people might be willing to remember his friend. The two had grown close over the past year and had biked more than 140 miles to the beach this month.
Yepez, dressed head to toe in purple, stepped onto a bench to address the crowd of about 100 bikers on Sunday.
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“I don’t care if anyone doesn’t show up. I’m going to ride for my friend,” Yepez said.
Raised in Ukraine, Zuckerman moved to the United States after being selected for a medical program to receive treatment for an eye injury that was too costly and difficult to treat in their home country, according to Nicole Van Dyke, another friend of Zuckerman. Van Dyke said Zuckerman was positive and easy to get along with.
The two regularly rode bikes and occasionally had dinners at Zuckerman’s apartment in Northeast Washington. Van Dyke was often amazed at Zuckerman’s juggling skills, which she said they picked up in Ukraine as a form of physical therapy as they dealt with their eye injury. Zuckerman could juggle five or six items, and held clinics at Meridian Hill Park, also known as Malcolm X Park, on Sundays to teach others.
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“We are all talking about this tragedy,” said Elizabeth Kiker, president of the Washington Area Bicyclist Association.
Inside Conte’s Bike Shop on Sunday, sales associate Semba Mwitanti stood beside the counter recalling memories of Zuckerman an hour before the scheduled memorial ride.
“The most positive person that I ever met,” Mwitanti said.
Officials are offering a reward of up to $25,000 for information about the case. Those with information can contact the police at 202-727-9099 or submit an anonymous tip by texting 50411.
Samantha Latson contributed to this report.
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