The recent shooting death of a Bronx father was the latest in a string of tragedies to plague his family across two continents and two generations — including the fatal shooting of his infant brother more than 20 years ago and his father just last year.
Clay Monsanto Jr., 32, became the third of his slain father’s sons to die a violent death when he was shot in the back near E. 176th St. and Anthony Ave. in Morris Heights about 8:10 a.m. Aug. 26.
Cops found a gun in Monsanto Jr.’s back right pocket after he was killed, NYPD officials said.
Monsanto Jr.’s brother Kadeem Monsanto was shot to death in the Backatown area of Belize City in 2011 at age 17. Another brother, Claymar, was tragically shot and killed as an infant in 2002, dying in his father’s arms from a bullet likely meant for the dad, Clay Monsanto Sr., 52, according to local reports.
Monsanto Sr.’s own life came to a violent end when the alleged former gang leader was shot just days before Easter in a 2024 attack at his home in Belize after being deported from the U.S.
Monsanto Jr. immigrated to the United States as a teenager in 2008, fleeing the violence in his home country, which by then had already claimed the life of his infant brother, his wife told The Daily News.
“Belize is a rough place,” said the wife, Nikkea Molina. “With all the problems happening down there, his family felt it was better for him to be away from that.”
Molina and Monsanto Jr. have a 4-year-old son and a daughter born just four months ago.
Monsanto Jr.’s killer has not been caught. Cops recovered eight shell casings from the scene.
Medics rushed Monsanto Jr. to St. Barnabas Hospital, where he died.
Monsanto Jr. stayed with family friends in Boston after arriving in the U.S. He attended Arlington High School before transferring to Boston Day and Evening Academy, where his wife said he excelled academically, graduating at the top of his class and earning awards for leadership and integrity.
Molina said their son inherited his father’s savviness.
“He’s super smart,” she said of their son. “His dad graduated at the top of his class. I did too. He came from that background where we’re going to push him to the limit. He has that support always.”
Colin Mixson / New York Daily News
A memorial for Clay Monsanto Jr. (Colin Mixson / New York Daily News)
Monsanto Jr. studied psychology at Bridgewater State University but was forced to drop out before earning his degree due to financial reasons, his wife said.
In Boston, he worked as a lifeguard before moving into his father’s Bronx apartment in 2016, where he most recently worked as a guide on a NYC tour bus, trading on his charm and big personality, said Molina.
“He was a very personable person, very charismatic,” she said.
Molina, who is also from Belize, met Monsanto Jr. in their home country but kindled the romance that would result in a decade-long relationship in the United States. She described him as the “light of all our lives.”
Monsanto Jr. returned to Belize last year to mourn his father, who was killed after gunmen scaled a fence and opened fire as the dad socialized with friends. Monsanto Sr. was slain seven months after being deported back to Belize following a prison stint in the U.S., according to Belize media outlets. The gunmen in that attack escaped on a motorcycle.
“Me and my brother talked every night,” Monsanto Sr.’s brother, Raymond Gongora, told the Amandala newspaper. “He used to come and sit with me a lot, because he came back not to be in any gang but to be with his kids. And when I went over there and saw him in the position he was in and all the shots in his head, I said, ‘What could have gotten him like that?’ Because he never used to live like that. They executed him.”
But officials in Belize say Monsanto Sr. was no stranger to the police and was a key gang figure in the late 90’s.
In 2004, he fled his homeland to avoid arrest but was charged in absentia for the murder of William Staine Jr., according to local reports.
Monsanto Jr.’s mother told The News that officials exaggerated his father’s gang ties.
“It’s not fair,” Yvette Sutherland said. “He was not a bad person.”
Monsanto Jr. struggled coming to terms with his brothers’ violent deaths but had by the time of his father’s murder developed a spiritual resilience that allowed him to weather that tragedy with grace, his wife said.
“It affected him a lot when he was younger,” she said. “The recent passing of his dad, I was shocked at how he handled it. He looked at it like, this is not the end. He really feels there’s an afterlife. Like this definitely wasn’t the end. That’s how he felt about it.”
The Bronx shooting that claimed Monsanto Jr.’s life was one of several fatal shootings that rattled the borough within a week of his death.
That same day, a few hours later, 34-year-old Kelvin Mosquea was fatally gunned down outside his home at the Sack Wern Houses, according to police.
On Aug. 22, four teenagers between the ages of 13 and 15 were wounded in a shooting near a playground.
The next day, a mass shooting erupted inside Haffen Park during a basketball tournament that left one man dead, a 17-year-old girl with a stray bullet lodged in her head and and three others wounded. The teen girl, Anthonaya Campbell, who was visiting her old neighborhood when she was shot, died last week.
The violence continued on Labor Day, when a group of men opened fire on a crowd outside a smoke shop on Allerton Ave., wounding four and killing Jamari Henry, 25.
Mayor Adams blamed the latest spate of Bronx violence on gang activity and promised a crackdown on the warring factions and to send 1,000 additional cops to the borough.
The day Monstanto Jr. was killed, cops released surveillance footage of the suspect and asked the public’s help identifying him and tracking him down.
The suspect is described as about 50 with a medium build and dark complexion. He was wearing a black hoodie, black pants, and blue sneakers.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential.
