CHARLOTTE — Sunday marks a painful anniversary for the Cosey family.
Their loved one, 27-year-old Gabriel Lee, was shot and killed in the parking lot of what was the Brooklyn Lounge one year ago at 1:30 a.m.
The family had a vigil at that time to honor Lee.
Sunday afternoon, they held a press conference to call attention to his death, and also to make an appeal that the building, which has been closed since last year, never be allowed to reopen as a nightclub again.
Nekisha Cosey, Lee’s mother, and community activist John Barnette talked about it.
“I think it should be some sort of community center,” said Cosey. “There is blood that’s been shed in this parking lot and souls are crying out from here and we really need to turn it into something positive.”
“Why reopen a place that causes death?” Barnette said. “It’s like building electric chambers across the county.”
Lee is not the only person who was killed in that parking lot. 26-year-old Steven Wheeler was also murdered there. His family also said they don’t want the club to return.
Both cases are unsolved, and both families hope that someone will talk and help bring justice.
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