Community honors legacy of teen killed in drive-by shooting by addressing youth violence

CHARLOTTE — Members of the NC Bulldogz AAU basketball team are honoring former player Marcqueon Goodman who was killed last year in a shooting.

Goodman was shot and killed in a drive-by shooting on April 28, 2021, on Rose Ridge Place in southwest Charlotte. He was 16 years old.

[ALSO READ: ‘It has to stop’: Local teen organizes event to honor victims of violence]

The community came together Monday night at the Mission Church of the Lord Jesus Christ on Amay James Avenue to talk about young Black men and gun violence in the Queen City.

“We have a problem in the city of Charlotte,” said Mark Raley, AAU coach and mentor. “We have a problem.”

Raley said when he hears about a shooting he worries about his players.

“I wake up and someone was killed overnight and I pray, ‘Is that mine? Is that my player that I coach?’” he said. “To hear that it was him, it really did hurt. The family was hurt. We were broken, but we healed as a team.”

Monday night’s discussion was part of the healing process.

Raley said he promised Goodman’s mother that he would keep her son’s legacy alive by helping other young men to navigate through the violence that surrounds them.

The coach asked how many players aged 12 to 18 at Monday night’s meeting knew friends who carry guns. About half of them raised their hands.

“It was shocking,” Raley said. “It was so shocking that my heart dropped.”

Teammate Joshua Johnson said he was also shocked.

“You don’t think it could be someone that close to you, but it could be anybody. It could be anybody,” he said.

[ALSO READ: 14-year-old boy’s shooting death in south Charlotte neighborhood remains unsolved]

Johnson and others talked about their experiences and shared why they think there’s been such a rise in gun violence amongst youth in the community.

“Peer pressure,” Johnson said. “Social media pressures you into stuff like thinking violence is good. Trying to feed you into the violence and stuff like that. And I feel like that could definitely be changed.”

There’s also going to be a balloon release later this week to honor Goodman’s life.

Spencer David Clark, who was 24 at the time, was charged with murder.

(Watch the video below: 18-year-old arrested after shooting teen during fight at Charlotte elementary school)

18-year-old arrested after shooting teen during fight at Charlotte elementary school

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