The father of a man killed at a vigil Friday evening says his son had spent the week mourning three friends who died in a crash.
Shahid Iman Omar Jr., 24, was among the hundreds of people in attendance Friday at Dr. Henry Wise Jr. High School in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, to honor the lives of Minnesota Vikings rookie Khyree Jackson, Isaiah Hazel and Anthony Lytton, Jr., who won a state championship together at Wise.
After the vigil, Omar and a woman were shot outside the high school, Prince George’s County police said. Omar did not survive.
“He had been suffering and crying all week long, and to know that when he put the T-shirt on and walked down that driveway headed to their candlelight vigil and looked at me and said, ‘Pops, I’ll see you later,’ – I had no idea he wouldn’t come back,” said his father, Travis Clarke.
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Omar had a 2-year-old daughter and a son on the way.
“On Saturday, we were supposed to be having a baby shower for his unborn son,” Clarke said. “But instead of celebrating a baby shower, we were mourning his death.”
Omar was full of love for his family and his community, working as a counselor helping at-risk youth at a group home, his father said.
“Our Thanksgivings will never be the same,” he said through tears. “Our Christmases will never be the same. Never. Never. Never.”
There’s still no word on a motive or suspect.
“This is unbearable. Unbearable,” Clarke said. “So, please, somebody that knows something, please say something.”
Police recovered a gun on scene. They’re offering a $25,000 reward for any information leading to an arrest and indictment.
Police have not identified the woman who survived the shooting.
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