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NYC shooting victim Jayden Goodridge remembered

A Bronx man gunned down by an e-scooter rider was a former basketball player who was just in the wrong place at the wrong time when he was killed, his former hoops coach told The Post on Tuesday.

Jayden Goodridge, 21, was fatally hit multiple times in the stomach and another man was grazed in the lip by gunfire at East 149th Street and Jackson Avenue in Mott Haven on Sunday evening, cops said.

Police said they have no reason to believe Goodridge was the shooter’s intended target. The gunman is still at large.

“When I got the phone call from his mom [saying Goodridge was dead], I was getting ready for work, and I just couldn’t fathom the thought of what she was telling me,” said Andre Thomas, who coached the young man with the AAU team the Riverside Hawks from 2016-19.

Jayden Goodridge, pictured in his high school years at Archbishop Stepinac in White Plains.
Jayden Goodridge, pictured in his high school years at Archbishop Stepinac in White Plains.
Twitter / @StepinacHS

“Because we coach a lot of kids over our coaching careers. There are certain ones that just stick with you forever,” Thomas said.

Goodridge, who graduated from private Archbishop Stepinac High School in White Plains in Westchester County, had just gotten off a train with two friends when he was hit by random gunfire, his coach said.

Thomas remembered the former point guard showing up to practice as the “smallest guy” in the gym.

Police said they have no reason at this point to believe Goodridge was targeted by the shooter.
Police said they have no reason at this point to believe Goodridge was targeted by the shooter.
Citizen

“All the coaches just kept overlooking him because of his height,” Thomas said. “I took a chance on him, and it was probably the best chance I’ve ever taken in my coaching career. I think he had the heart, he was not a disappointment.

“His heart was bigger than his height. He was always dependable,” the coach added, noting that Goodridge and his sister were raised by a single mom.

“He wanted to progress and make something out of basketball to provide [for his family],” Thomas said of Goodridge, who died just before he was to start a new job at American Eagle Outfitters.

Goodridge was a point guard with the Riverside Hawks until 2019, his former coach said.
Goodridge was a point guard with the Riverside Hawks until 2019, his former coach said.
Andre Thomas

On his long-inactive Twitter account, Goodridge often posted of his exploits on the court.

“Now Im just focused on being a great Basketball player and making my mom proud,” he wrote in his final post in 2017.

His White Plains-based former high school mourned his passing in a Twitter post Tuesday.

“It is with great sadness that we have learned of the tragic passing of alumnus Jayden Goodridge, Class of 2019,” Stepinac said. “We pray for the repose of his soul and for God’s mercy and care for his family and loved ones during this time of unimaginable grief. Rest In Peace, Jayden.”

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