His life cut short last Sunday morning, Mark Fisher, ’06, is mourned by the Fairfield community while the New York Police Department continues the search for his murderer.

“Mark restored my faith that there are good people on earth when I doubted there were any left,” said Stephen Dogmanits, ’01, former defensive coordinator of Fairfield’s football team. “Mark was a genuinely kind person, and he had a bright future ahead of him.”

Fisher was recruited by Dogmanits for the football team and played as an offensive lineman until the program was cut last spring.

“After meeting him for the first time, it was enough to know he is a fine man,” said Dogmanits. “He was liked not only by the whole coaching staff, but by all people.”

Fisher was last seen by friends with an unidentified woman at the Bar Harbour located at 1470 First Avenue near East 77th in Manhattan around 2 a.m. on Oct. 12.

“We got split up into two groups around 2:30 a.m.,” said nursing student Jaclyn Conway, ’06, one of the students in Manhattan with Fisher. “It was an unexpected separation. The group I was with did not plan on going to Brooklyn nor back to Fairfield. We didn’t know where Mark went.”

Conway, who had no recollection of the identity of the woman, said Fisher did not have his cellular phone with him, and no one was able to get in touch with him after leaving the bar.

The unidentified woman, a resident of Long Island and a college student in Vermont, was introduced to Fisher by a Fairfield University student identified only as Angel, according to The New York Times.

“It is so shocking. Mark was such a great person,” Conway said. “This should have never happened. He touched everyone.”

Nearly five hours later, at 6:41 a.m., residents of Argyle Road in Brooklyn’s south Prospect Park section heard five gunshots close by.

“I was sleeping, and all of a sudden I woke up to the sound of five gunshots,” said Daisy Martinez, a resident of 136 Argyle Road. “I heard one shot…then a pause. Then I heard three to four shots in rapid succession.”

Martinez said she jumped out of bed to look out the window but did not see anything outside.

“My kids came running into my room scared,” she said. “I got dressed immediately and went downstairs. I knew something had happened just because of the close proximity.”

Within two minutes, the Brooklyn Police Department arrived at the scene and closed the road, according to Martinez.

“I saw this poor boy face down, and I shoved my kids back into the house,” Martinez said. “It’s not the type of thing you want kids to remember.”

Residents of the quiet neighborhood lined with Victorian style mansions were shocked by the incident.

“I remember thinking, ‘This is someone’s son. This is someone’s brother,'” Martinez said, sobbing. “I asked the police who the boy was. I was told they did not know because he did not have any identification on him.”

Martinez said it began to rain, and police covered Fisher’s body immediately.

Several .22-caliber shell casings were found by Fisher’s body, which was partially wrapped in a yellow blanket, according to witnesses.

“The police should be commended,” Martinez said. “They afforded him great dignity, and I cannot stress enough that our hearts and sentiments are with the Fairfield University community and family.”

While many witnesses said they saw a vehicle drive away from the scene of the one-way street, Martinez said she did not see anything.

“It was completely empty outside except for all the neighbors,” she said.

A receipt found later showed that Fisher had withdrawn $20 at about 4:20 a.m. from an Eleven 7 convenience store on Coney Island Avenue in Brooklyn, approximately two hours before Fisher’s murder merely three blocks away, according to several news reports.

Detectives have since found and questioned the unidentified woman Fisher accompanied at 2 a.m. but would not comment further.

Students and faculty remembered Fisher as an “outstanding, cheerful young man.”

Fisher was an intramural supervisor at the RecPlex and worked under Paul Cantrell, director of recreation and intramurals at the RecPlex.

“Mark was always willing to help,” said Cantrell. “He worked the day to day operations of intramural sports, making sure the fields and all equipment were ready for the students.”

John Mahoney, ’06, remembered how much Fisher’s teammates loved the 6-foot-4-inch 240 pound prom king from Lenape Valley Regional High School.

“He was just the type of kid where he could walk into a room or into a party,” he said. “He would just fit in right away and be welcomed, and you would see that patented little smirk. I know he will be remembered without a doubt.”

Former teammates of Fisher-who knew their friend as “Fish”-expressed sorrow about the loss of their teammate.

“He was always up…never down,” said Robert Hoey, ’05 about Fisher’s happy nature.

Students living on the first floor of Kostka Hall where Fisher lived said they are in shock and feel awkward. They remembered how Fisher walked around the dorm during the first week of school and introduced himself to all the residents on his floor.

Despite Fisher’s death, students do not fear traveling to New York City.

Hoey’s opinion of the city has not changed. “There are bad areas in any city,” he said.

Dean of Students Mark Reed urged students to be mindful when traveling anywhere.

“I think students should always be conscious of where they travel and with whom, to the extent that it is reasonably possible,” he said. “[As of right now] there is no definitive indication that Mark Fisher did anything wrong or went somewhere he shouldn’t have. Until the police investigation is complete, I think it is inappropriate to speculate about what he was doing and where he was going when this happened.”

The Fisher family, who reside in Andover, N.J., remained thankful for all thoughts and prayers shared by the university community.

“It is very hard for us, and we prefer privacy,” said Nancy Fisher, Fisher’s mother. “We appreciate the prayers of all the students. Prayer is needed, and everything helps at this point. Nobody knows pain like this. We have support all day and all night. Mark is my baby, and we’re trying to remain strong.”

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