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By Billal Rahman
Immigration Reporter
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A U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer allegedly shot and killed his girlfriend, a 37-year-old mother, inside her Bronx apartment Tuesday night as she pleaded for help during a phone call with her father.
A spokesperson for the New York City Police Department (NYPD) told Newsweek that the two people who died were Andrea Cantarini and Juan Cornelio Diaz, 38.
CBP confirmed to Newsweek that one of its officers was involved and described the incident as an apparent murder-suicide.
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Andrea Cantarini’s father, retired NYPD officer Rudy Cantarini, told the New York Post that his daughter called him at 8:47 p.m. Tuesday and was “begging for her life.”
When contacted by Newsweek, Rudy Cantarini declined an interview and instead referred to his comments published by the New York Post.
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Officers responded to a 911 call reporting an assault inside an apartment on Blackstone Avenue in the Bronx at about 9:04 p.m. Tuesday, according to police.
When officers arrived, they found Cantarini and Diaz, who lived at the address, each with a gunshot wound to the head. Emergency medical personnel pronounced both dead at the scene, police said.
“U.S. Customs and Border Protection is aware of an apparent murder/suicide incident involving one of its officers from the New York Field Office,” a CBP spokesperson told Newsweek. “CBP is cooperating with the investigation and defers any additional questions to the New York Police Department.”
The New York Post reported that Cantarini worked as a nurse at St. Barnabas Hospital and shared a 6-year-old daughter with Diaz.
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Multiple neighbors told News 12 that the couple’s daughter was not inside the apartment at the time of the shooting.
Her father told the outlet that Diaz allegedly brandished a gun during an incident at their home earlier Tuesday, after which Cantarini left for work. Family members and colleagues urged her not to return home, he said, but she went back that evening believing Diaz was at work.
Her father said Diaz was inside when she returned and prevented her from leaving a bedroom. She called her father and told him Diaz had a gun to her head, he said. Cantarini’s father also told the newspaper that his daughter had wanted to end the relationship.
Her father paid tribute to his daughter in a Facebook post, saying the family’s “hearts are ripped out” by her death. “You were taken from us and we will NEVER be whole again,” he wrote. “Mom and Dad love you for eternity.”
A 2025 post published by CUNY described Andrea Cantarini as an aspiring registered nurse who was completing Bronx Community College’s nursing program while raising her young daughter and working part-time as a mental health worker at a psychiatric hospital.
Cantarini said the college’s child care program had allowed her to focus on her studies and complete her degree, describing the center as part of the “village” that supported her family. She planned to take the NCLEX nursing exam that summer and begin working as a nurse.
No arrests have been made, and the investigation remains ongoing, authorities said.
Anyone seeking help should call The National Domestic Violence Hotline, a free and confidential hotline available 24/7 that can be reached on 1-800-799-7233 or TTY 1-800-787-3224. The Hotline also provides information on local resources. For more information, visit thehotline.org.
Newsweek’s reporters and editors used Martyn, our AI assistant, to produce this story. Learn more about Martyn here.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Matthew Cannon, Gray R. Thomas
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