NEWARK — As the investigation continues into the Monday shooting death of NJIT student Joseph Micalizzi, friends and raising money to help pay for funeral expenses for the Freehold native.

Micalizzi, 23, was shot and killed by a burglar who had broken into the fraternity house of Tau Kappa Epsilon house on Martin Luther King Boulevard, which divides the NJIT and Rutgers-Newark campuses. Micalizzi's death was the second slaying of a college student in a month in this city's University Heights.

Bianca Miranda, the creator of the Joe Micalizzi Family Fund page, said she met 23-year-old Micalizzi  when they worked together at the Brio Tuscan Grille restaurant at the  Freehold Raceway Mall.

"Everyone within a 60 mile radius is mourning him," said Miranda, who remembered him bringing coffee to everyone at work. "He was just a soul changing human. He was one of those people you met and he just changed everything for you. He was always laughing, always smiling," Miranda said. She said he would bring calm to stressful situations and was a "peacemaker."

Both the Joseph Micalizzi Memorial Fund and the Joe Micalizzi Family Fund, pages were created to help with funeral expenses.

She said "it's upsetting" that they haven't found the suspects.

"I want everyone to keep talking about him because I don't want it to go away," Miranda said. "He was just a good human. There's not many people like him. He was a great friend who would do anything for you."

The Essex County Prosecutor's Office had no new details on Wednesday about the investigation.

NJIT also reiterated on its Facebook page that there are "many avenues for support and assistance" for those grieving Micalizzi's death from many professionals on its campus. The dean of students can connect those who need help with the best person who can offer help.

NJIT hosted a candlelight vigil in  Micalizzi's memory on Tuesday night attended by hundreds of students. Several TKE fraternity brothers spoke during the vigil, describing Micalizzi as a hero, a stand-up guy and true friend — someone who you instantly liked and who did the right thing and helped others.

Information regarding funeral services were not finalized Wednesday afternoon. Micalizzi was a member of the St. Robert Bellarmine Church of Freehold.

David Matthau contributed to this report.

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