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An elderly Bronx man who was knocked unconscious during a robbery in December died weeks later — and his death has been ruled a homicide, police said Tuesday.
Gilberto Silva, 76, of Foxhurst, was found unresponsive with a cut to his head on Vyse Ave. near E. 174th St. just before 5 a.m. on Dec. 23.
He was just a few blocks from his home.
Video released after the mugging shows two of the suspects standing over Silva while the third is seen walking away with his jacket.
Silva, who worked for a senior citizens group in the Bronx, was taken to St. Barnabas Hospital. He died on Feb. 5, police said.
The Medical Examiner has ruled his death a homicide.
Silva was a porter at a building on Billingsley Terrace, according to Yolanda Bagalsca, of the Mid-Bronx Senior Citizens Council.
“As a person, he was good,” she said.
Silva lived with his wife, Lydia, who has since left their home to live with their daughter, neighbors said.
He left home every day at 4:30 a.m. to go to work, then returned to spend time with his wife.
“Very quiet, lovely person,” Armando Rodriguez said.
Another neighbor, Tatiana Smith, 24, called the attack inexplicable.
“He was a sweetheart,” she said. “He didn’t bother anybody. There was no reason for them to do what they did.
If they would have asked, he would have given it to them.”
“He would go food shopping and give out the food if he had too much,” she added.