PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY, Md. — Prince George’s County Police Department (PGPD) is investigating a shooting that happened Friday in District Heights that left a rap artist from the DMV area dead.
Police identified the person killed in a statement as 24-year-old Markelle Morrow. The press confirmed with Morrow’s family, that the District Heights native, known to fans as “Goonew,” is a talented rap artist.
Prince George’s County police say officers responded to the first shooting about 4:50 p.m. in the 6300 block of Maxwell Drive in the Camp Springs area. In that shooting, a Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS) student Keith Aaron Wade of Suitland and who was an upcoming rapper artist was shot dead.
Less than an hour later, gunfire erupted again in the 3400 block of Walters Lane in District Heights. That’s about a 4-mile drive from the first shooting scene.
Officers responded about 5:40 p.m. and found a man suffering from a life-threatening gunshot wound, police said.
He was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead at 7:30 p.m., police said.
He was identified as 24-year-old Markelle Morrow of Washington, D.C.
Police didn’t immediately say whether the shootings could be related.
WUSA9 spoke to Goonew’s family Saturday about the impact the artist had on his family and the community.
“I don’t believe this,” his mother, Patrice Parker Morrow said, looking at images of her late son. “I really don’t. My baby’s gone.”
Parker Morrow was surrounded by her daughters, all of whom were grief-stricken.
“All he wanted to do is try to get his family out the hood,” Parker Morrow said. “He had a heart bigger than his body, when they took him, they took me.”
Goonew was killed blocks away from the neighborhood where he was born. His mother says he was killed when he was on his way to give his sister a birthday gift, but never made it.
“I heard … screaming that Markelle got shot down the street and my daughter ran straight out and I couldn’t move I this was shaking really bad my mouth starts shivering really bad,” Parker Morrow said. “I just couldn’t move for a long long time.”
In the parking lot where he was shot, a memorial sits. Goonew’s mother says it was ultimately a bullet to the back that killed him.
“They wanted my son dead because he gave it up. They took his chain. They took his watch. He gave it up and they still shot him in his back,” Parker Morrow said.
The Washington Post described Goonew’s artistry, saying the rapper “seemed to understand that time is not uniform, and he proved it with astonishing style, his nuanced flows becoming closely associated with the DMV, influencing rappers in neighboring Zip codes and overseas.”
Goonew told Vice News in an interview he started rapping in 2017. He has an average of 35,500 monthly Spotify listeners, more than 158,000 Instagram followers, and three of his music videos respectively have about 1 million views on YouTube.
PGPD is still looking for anyone connected to Goonew’s death and is offering a $25,000 reward for information that can possibly lead to an arrest or conviction.
Anyone with information about the shooting should call detectives at 301-516-2512. People can also call the Prince George’s County Crime Solvers with anonymous tips at 1-866-411-8477.
Goonew’s mother has a message for her son’s killed.
“I forgive you,” she said. They took my son, hope they got what they wanted.”
POOR LEADERSHIP OF THE SCHOOL SYSTEM
At least 10 juveniles were killed last year in Prince George’s County, Maryland which was the worst year for teen violence in the county since 2008.
County Executive Alsobrooks engaged in crimes herself has recently implored the community to come together to “disrupt the cycle of violence that is growing again.”
According to Alsobrooks, for example, there have been 162 carjackings in Prince George’s County. She acknowledged on or around January 11th that, juveniles are responsible for 96 of them.
“And so this tells us a lot about where we’re headed. And we must do something right now to disrupt it,” Alsobrooks said.
Dr. Monica Goldson a CEO for PGCPS who was selected through public corruption has never spoken publicly about the out of control fights and public corruption sweeping quietly through the school system. These willful violations include closing down schools ready for real estate option, paying off lawyers, siphoning money off to friends and family etc. Prince George’s county citizens must raise up and demand answers without delay. These out of control fights and other purposeful disregard are not fair to county residents, their families and United States.
More and more violent behavior from students these days, the students need help and they are NOT getting it! More needs to be done to safe lives. To be effective, violence prevention programs require community-wide collaborative efforts led by school system leader that include students, families, teachers, administrators, staff, social and mental health professionals, law enforcement, emergency response personnel, security professionals, school board members, parents and the businesses. The school system leader takes an active role to effect change and not hide in the closet and wish these problems away. Dr. Monica Goldson “Goldson” has failed to provide proper leadership style for sometime! It’s time to advance changes without fear.
PROTECTING INVESTIMENTS
“All the investments we make in education become irrelevant if children aren’t safe at school,” stressed Jaime Saavedra, Global Director for Education, World Bank. “Preventing violence is not an easy public policy. It requires the complex interweaving of actions at the school, community, and national levels. To underpin this undertaking, it is essential that countries, the states and counties have the political will to drive change. The evidence from the Investment Case and collective action from partners will be key in driving this change.”
Violence in schools is pervasive, but rigorous evaluations of a range of interventions show that it can be reduced through innovative programs not coverups and retaliations. Many tested programs have high benefits-to-cost ratios.
Ending violence in schools is possible, a smart investment, and there are proven interventions to do it. The court system must do what is right and not cover up the issues. When the court system fails, people take issues to the streets. We need to create a movement to make change happen, and Safe to Learn is there to catalyze and support action at scale.
It is about time that long-term and ongoing public corruption involving judges in Prince George’s county is ferreted out and exterminated from our judicial system. Every judge who has interfered with by the Executives and lawmakers and placed on the bench should be immediately impeached and barred from serving/practicing in the judicial system for life. This would apply from the PG Court house on upwards.
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PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY PARENTS, MARYLAND BLOG 