Darius Lee Weaver was Shot and Killed at Fathers Day Barbecue…
College basketball star Darius Lee Weaver, 21, was shot and killed when gunfire broke out in Harlem on Monday, June 20th. Weaver was attending a barbecue in Harlem when an unknown shooter fired a gun at a crowd and injured 9 people, seven men and two women.
The shooting took place on Fifth Avenue and 139th street overnight as people were gathered at a barbecue cookout for Father’s Day weekend. It is reported that there was a music video being filmed in close proximity to the cookout in Harlem.
Gunshots were fired rapidly at approximately 12:30 am. Weaver’s sister, who was home at the time of the shooting heard the commotion and gunshots and instantly feared for her life as she knew her brother wasn’t home. She attempted to call Weaver multiple times but struggled to get hold of him.
The police were notified of the gunshots and immediately rushed to the scene at 12:36 am. Upon their arrival, they found 9 people who had gunshot wounds. The victims were immediately transferred to Lincoln Hospital. 21-year-old Weaver was pronounced dead upon arrival.
Darius Lee Weaver’s sister Tiara Weaver was distraught when she found out what had happened. She said, “We love him. We’re gonna miss him. I don’t know what I’m gonna do.
That’s my other half. He was never supposed to die, never. My mother is never supposed to bury her kid.” She mentioned his kindhearted nature saying, “He’s an innocent kid. He decided to stay outside one day, and this is what happens.”
Weaver graduated from St. Raymond High School in 2019. He was due to graduate in December from Houston Baptist University with his bachelor’s degree. He had wished to participate in playing basketball professionally after graduation.
He was recently awarded the HBU Robbie Robertson Male Student-Athlete of 2022 award. Ron Cottrell, the James Sears Bryant Head Men’s Basketball Coach, mentioned with grief, “We are devastated. Darius was a remarkable young man who loved the Lord, his mom, his family, his teammates, his friends, and his entire HBU family. We are in shock and cannot wrap our heads around this news.”
Still on Darius Lee Weaver’s Death…
His coaches and family hosted a memorial service for him in Harlem and Houston on Monday.
St. Raymond officials expressed their grief to the family and said that “… Our prayers and condolences go out to his family at this time, and we pray for his eternal rest with our Lord.
Aside from being a tremendous basketball star, he was a phenomenal human being, and a young man living such a positive life, succeeding in school, on the court, and in life. These senseless acts of violence need to stop…such a tragedy.”
The university’s director of athletics Steve Moniaci stated that this shooting is “unfortunately, yet again, another example of the senseless gun violence that seems to be plaguing our country right now and we all pray it will cease.”
Although a gun was recovered at the barbecue in Harlem, the police have not linked it to anyone as of yet and the investigations are still ongoing. The police are attempting to verify how many shooters were involved in the Father’s Day barbecue incident.
They urge anyone who has knowledge of what happened to come forward and report it. In response to the news of the shooting, NYPD Clergy Reverend Robert Rice said, “Everybody is sick of the violence.
I mean, when is enough going to be enough? When are we going to put these guns down? We don’t want to see another mother bury another child.”
Local residents are still shocked and startled by the violence and death that took place at a Father’s Day barbecue. One resident said, “These are people’s lives. Everybody’s life is valuable, and there’s no reason to take another person’s life.”
