PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — “It’s too much senseless killing.”
That’s what a frustrated Prentis Park resident had to say on the morning of June 7 when four people, including 34-year-old Ashley Merricks, were killed.
Less than one month later, in the Oakleaf Forest section of Norfolk, police arrested a 13-year-old, charging him with reckless handling of a firearm after the shooting death of a victim police identified as a 15-year-old boy.
That boy, said Nikia Murry, was her stepson, Daeshaun Cook. Murry and Cook’s grandmother confirm Daeshaun was the son of Maple Avenue victim Ashley Merricks.
This is what activist Bilal Muhammad had to say about Daeshauns death nearly one year ago.
“Take pride in your community, most of all take pride in yourself, and most of all don’t touch the guns,” Muhammad said.
Lurry told 10 On Your Side that she and Daeshaun’s father had custody of the boy for many years and that she misses him dearly.
Merricks mother, Daeshaun’s grandmother, told 10 On Your Side Friday that she remains too distraught to share the story of losing two loved ones to violence in one season.
Norfolk State University social psychologist Dr. Tim Goler said this type of violence in the Black community is the byproduct of centuries of oppression.
“I’m speaking about the knowledge that gun violence is really a byproduct of identity,” Goler said. “You don’t have a sense of who you are, and you don’t have any connection to your root system.”
At 2 p.m. July 22 on the oak leaf basketball court, Murry will hold a Celebration of Life and Birthday bash. Daeshaun died one day before his 16th birthday.
