Gerald Williams
Gerald Williams, 20, was killed in an off-campus brawl on Feb. 1 following a basketball game between Morgan State University and Coppin State University.
According to Baltimore City Police, Williams was fatally stabbed in a melee outside of an off campus housing complex. He was a junior with a multi-media platform major who would have turned 21 on June 30.
The off campus gated housing community, known as Morgan View, is located at 1500 Pentridge Road, Baltimore, MD. It’s about a half mile from the Morgan State Campus and police said he was stabbed sometime around 9:46 p.m. that evening. While no information about the suspects has been released, police believe there were 15 to 20 people involved in the fight, including both students and non-students.
“This is a truly unnecessary act of violence and a tragic loss of life,” Lt. Jarron Jackson, a police spokesman, told reporters on Feb. 2 . “The bottom line is, we need information. We know people know what happened last night. We know there were a lot of people there. We need them to come forward.”
According to the student newspaper the MSU Spokesman, on Feb 2. Morgan State students, many still grieving, were allowed to address safety concerns at a Board of Regents meeting after the murder of Gerald Williams. Chinedu Nwokeafor, a senior communications major, who tried to save Williams’ life but was ultimately unsuccessful, was one of the many students that showed up to voice their concerns about campus safety. Williams was pronounced dead at Johns Hopkins.
A candle light vigil will be held for Gerald Williams on Feb. 4. (Courtesy Photo)
“Safety is a huge concern on this campus,” Nwokeafor told the Board of Regents. He continued, “my concern is for me and the remaining 6,000 other students is if our parents are sending us to this institution, if we are taking out loans, our safety must come first. This is our third stabbing in 11 months. That should not be happening, students should be safe and police presence should be on all parts of this campus.”
The Rev. Dr. Frances “Toni” Draper, pastor of Freedom Temple A.M.E. Zion Church, is vice chair of the Morgan State University Board of Regents and a relative of Williams. “I share your pain,” she said to Nwokeafor. “The family found out late last night and we are devastated by the loss of any young life whether it’s our family or not, so we share your concerns.” Williams was the great, great grandson of the late Carl Murphy, the long term publisher of the AFRO American Newspaper.
Rev. Draper went on to thank Nwokeafor not only for sharing his concerns but also for trying to save her family member’s life. “We also have a deep concern of every single student on this campus. In fact, in our new board member orientation a couple weeks ago we talked about the fact that we’re an open campus and we are concerned about how to keep our students, our faculty, our staff and those like myself who live in this neighborhood, how we all can be safe together.”
Jonee Brown, Williams’ mother, described him as “the most amazing son, very giving, a shining star and a true man of God.” She went on to say “he was loved by everybody and everybody is just so devastated by his passing. He was like the perfect son.” Brown said her son had a passion for writing and was looking to explore the journalism side of his major more in the coming semesters. She also said Williams played four years of football for the Duvall High School Tigers in Prince George’s County and was also a member of the Reid Temple A.M.E. Church located in Glenn Dale, MD. In addition to his mother, Williams is survived by his father, Gerald Williams, and his brother, Brandon Coates.
The investigation into the murder is ongoing. There was a candle light vigil at Morgan Views on Feb. 4 at 7:30 p.m. A Go Fund Me page has been created at gofundme.com/mrmy7h6s.
Anyone with information about the homicide is asked to call the police.
Funeral Arrangements for Gerald Williams are: Thursday, February 11, 2016 at Reid Temple AME Church in Glendale, Md.
Wake 10:00 am;
Funeral 11:00 am
Akira Kyles contributed additional reporting