Shocked Friends and Family Mourn Rraci

After more than a day of praying and hoping for 20-year-old Cortlandt resident Valon Rraci to recover from critical injuries suffered Monday, friends and family were shocked to lose their loved one Tuesday, according to comments on social media and news sites.

Over the last day and a half, family and friends have been tweeting messages of support to each other and promoting the hashtags #staystrongvalon and #prayforvalon. People's comments on twitter and on Patch convey that many people clearly loved and cared for Rraci and suffered first over his critical condition, and are now mourning his death.

Around 2 p.m. Monday, Elisa DiPatero, Rraci's girlfriend of the last three years, tweeted "the love of my life is gone." She followed up with many tweets about how strongly she loves Rraci.

"You have touched the lives of so many people and will always be remembered. I love you more then anything, I miss you baby." DiPatero said, "he was very lovable, outgoing and could light up any room, he had a way of making everyone laugh and was VERY family oriented."

A twitter user who identifies herself as Rraci's cousin tweeted, "My cousin, my best friend, my baby boy, I love you. I looked up to you as if you were my older brother; i can't believe you're gone."

Services will take place Thursday from 2 to 9 p.m. at the F. Ruggiero & Sons Funeral Home, 732 Yonkers Ave., Yonkers.