A man shot to death while at work at Birmingham’s Elyton Meat Market is being remembered as someone who always went the extra mile for others.

“He was always being nice, even when he didn’t have to be,’’ Maya Reynolds said of slain cousin Cortez Dekelvin Ware. “He was a people person.”

Ware was a longtime butcher, first at Angel Foods Meat Market in north Birmingham and in recent years at Elyton Meat Market. Those mourning his death said he was popular with customers who requested he be the one to cut their meat. He was also known for carrying customer’s groceries to their car for them.

“He was always willing to go the extra mile,’’ said Chanta Maya Reynolds, another cousin.

The shooting happened at 2 p.m. Wednesday at the business on Center Street North and Third Avenue North. Ware collapsed on the sidewalk just outside the front door where he was pronounced dead at 2:16 p.m.

Police marked at least 10 shell casings near Ware’s body.

Ware was a longtime employee, and the suspect had only recently started working there.

Ware was working Wednesday, but his family said they understand the suspect was off work that day. The two were involved in a dispute the previous day.

Sgt. Monica Law said community members and information obtained through the department’s Real Time Crime Center quickly led police to the suspect. He was taken into custody at nearby Elyton Village public housing community.

The 32-year-old suspect is being held in the Birmingham City Jail awaiting formal charges.

Ware was a father and in a long-term relationship. He was well-loved, his family said, and always smiling.

“He was family-oriented,’’ Chanta Reynolds said. “He wasn’t a confrontation person. I’ve never seen him mad, angry or upset.”

“This is something so tragic,’’ Maya Reynolds said, “that you never thought would happen to him of all people.”