NORFOLK, Va. – A Norfolk family held back tears Monday night as members of the community came out to show support, gathering for a vigil to remember the life ofthe 33-year-old man shot and killed Saturday at MacArthur Center.
Those who attended the vigil to remember one of their own were trying to stay strong for Roosevelt McKinney, but they were sad and angry another senseless act of gun violence took a life.
More than 200 people in the Calvert Square community gathered to remember one of their own.
“My nephew got to grow up without his father; my son got to live with the fact that his uncle was there for him, and his niece can’t answer the calls,” said McKinney’s sister.
Norfolk Police responded to the shooting on Monticello Avenue. They say McKinney was pronounced dead at the scene.
Monday night, family and friends lit their candles to honor someone they say was a bright light.
“He was a great young man. He was a loving father, uncle, brother - he was just there for his family,” said community activist Clay Marquez.
Marquez is related to McKinney’s family. As a community activist, he’s also trying to curb gun violence in the community.
He says vigils like this are why he wants to make a difference.
“We just try to get out here and just go out to the clubs and get people to stop this violence and put the guns down. We go talk to the young guys because like I said, I've been to prison. I used to be on the other side of the gun,” Marquez told News 3.
Members of the Norfolk Police Department also came to the vigil to pay their respects to McKinney.
But for friends and family, they have one final message that will never change.
“I love you, bro; you was the glue. It ain’t going to be the same, and I love you, bro.”
Two other people were hurt in the shooting at the mall.
Police have released these surveillance photos of the suspect and a person of interest, but they’re still looking for them:
We also spoke with the president of the Downtown Norfolk Civic League, who says they’re holding a meeting in the next few weeks to discuss the uptick in gun violence in Hampton Roads and solutions to tackle the problem.
