PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — “I will never forget the sound of my mother crying for my nephew as his body lays there,” said Del. Candi Mundon King. “People don’t understand that trauma.”
Darrio Mundon, 32, an innocent bystander, was shot to death Saturday night when gunmen opened fire in London Oaks. His grieving aunt is a Democrat member of the Virginia General Assembly, representing the 2nd district in Prince William and Stafford counties.
“He’s father to a four-year-old who will not have the opportunity to grow up and know her dad,” said Mundon King. The family has established a GoFundMe account to raise money for funeral and other expenses.
Two seventeen-year-olds and a 26-year-old man are behind bars for her nephew’s death.
Mundon King, a person of faith, said she holds no anger toward the suspects.
“I’m angry at the circumstances where we continue to allow young people to grow up in that (and) perpetuates this system of violence,” Mundon King said.
Mundon King said that, a few years ago, lawmakers crafted a $27 million plan to address the system of violence but she said that had been “gutted” by Gov. Glenn Youngkin. A Youngkin spokesperson said, however, that the governor “worked in a bipartisan way to deliver ($43 million) in state funding to programs that combat violence and crimes committed with guns since January 2022, including a firearm violence prevention and intervention program and operation ceasefire.”
Regina Mobley: How will you take this experience back to Richmond in January and speak with your colleagues about the devastating nature of gun violence and the general hopelessness that so many in our community experience?
Del. Candi Mundon King: I’m hoping that his story will reach those on the other side of the aisle, the governor’s mansion, so they can understand that real lives and real people are hurt by the epidemic of gun violence and we can do something to address these things at the root level.
The delegate said her sister, the victim’s mother, remains too distraught to participate in an interview. A public viewing is set for 3 p.m. Monday, Nov. 20 at Graves Funeral Home in Norfolk. Additional arrangements are pending.
Following Regina Mobley’s report, the governor’s office reached out to WAVY with a statement. “Governor Youngkin has worked in a bipartisan way to deliver $43M in state funding to programs that combat violence and crimes committed with guns since January 2022, including a firearm violence prevention and intervention program and operation ceasefire.”
