Summit Mourns Slain Restaurant Worker

Murders are a rare thing in Summit, NJ. That is what makes the inexplicable killing of 47-year-old father-of-four Abelino Mazariego by a group of teens all the more shocking.

Details from NBC New York:

Mazariego, a native of El Salvador, finished his shift as a cook’s assistant at Dabbawalla Indian restaurant in Summit, N.J., and took a seat on a bench in the Summit Promenade, prosecutors claim.

A pack of teenagers approached him, and two started to beat him, prosecutors say. One recorded the attack. The second attacker, a 17-year-old, was also arrested; the teen who got it all on tape has not been charged.

Colin Crasto, manager and chef at Dabbawalla, said the fact that the beating was taped “makes it more horrific.” Crasto added that he’s never felt unsafe in the area, and that teens hang out outside in the summer just like anywhere else.

“We are totally shocked at what happened,” said Crasto.

Police then found Mazariego with severe head trauma and took him to Overlook Hospital in Summit. He never regained consciousness and died three days later, according to the New Jersey Local News Service.

Hello Summit!

Welcome to Summit Peace, a creation of Grateful Dread Peace Media, a nonprofit community service endeavor whose primary goal is to inform the public and inspire progressive-peace citizen action for a better world. We’ve been doing this since 1996, when GDPM was founded in Baltimore, Maryland, and under the name ALL FACTS AND OPINIONS. Now, we reside in Summit, New Jersey, and man oh man, we are thrilled to pieces to continue our worldchanging mission here.

I’m your host, Natalie Davis, a journalist, broadcaster, author, speaker, organizer and activist who has been in the peace/social justice arena practically from the womb. My relationship with Summit goes back two decades, when I married a Jersey boy born and bred here.  Having spent a good bit of time here over the years, I’ve loved Summit for a long time. Finally living here feels as natural to me as breathing. This is a beautiful community of fine people, so it makes sense to share my life’s mission with them.

The idea behind Summit Peace (subtitled All Facts and Opinions) is simple: Here, we present all sorts of material of interest to people committed to peace, the environment, and progressive values. As the site develops, you’ll see news items, resource links, event info, counterculture stuff (hey, we are everywhere!) and more. Some of what we share will be serious, some will be silly, some will be stuff I think is just plain cool… I hope you will find it informative, interesting, inspiring, and (when appropriate) perhaps a wee bit humorous or fun. One never knows; I certainly don’t.  You’ll have to visit us to know. But I see this as a chance to fix a broken world while building community with likeminded souls — and wouldn’t it be groovy to have Summit’s progressive-minded citizens come together? Just think of the good we could do and the camaraderie we could share.

Now, if you’ve read AF&O for years, no worries. We’ll still cover the same stuff and with more regularity, so this is a win for all involved. I so appreciate your past support and hope you’ll stick around for our future. Bottom line: We have a world to save, and that’s going to take folks in Baltimore, Summit, New York, the Bay Area, Chicago, London, Paris, Munich, Madrid, Johannesburg, Tokyo… you get the idea.

Please join us regularly and tell your friends. Be sure to follow @summitpeace on Twitter as well as the nationally focused @allfactsandopin Twitter, which will continue as is. And do peace — that’s what it’s all about.

Pax vobiscum!