By Mark F. Gray, AFRO Staff Writer, mgray@afro.com
Days after losing a student leader following a hit and run accident, Bowie State University and the Paint Branch communities came together in mourning the death of 18-year-old Damion Callery Jr. who was killed at his home in Burtonsville, Md. on Aug. 17.
Damion Callery Jr., 18, was shot in his backyard and later died inside a separate area in the lower part of the house, where he lived.
Damion Callery Jr., 18, of Burtonsville was due to begin his first semester at Bowie State University when his life was robbed from him in his own backyard on August 17. (Courtesy Photo)
Police were called regarding a shooting in the early hours just before 4:00 a.m. The first responding officers found the teen dead inside his home on the 14100 block of Angelton Ter. in Burtonsville. Detectives later determined Callery encountered at least one armed suspect in his backyard when he was shot. Callery, Jr. struggled his way back into the house where he reportedly died in father’s arms.
“He was on the right path and someone stopped all that,” Damion Callery Sr. said in an interview on WUSA-TV in Washington. “I can’t believe that this kind of stuff is going on and that the kids are hurting each other. I just don’t understand. Damion never hurt anyone.”
Callery, Jr. recently graduated from Paint Branch High School and was preparing to start college at BSU this fall. “Bowie State University is mourning the tragic death of another member of our community within a week,” wrote BSU President Aminta Breaux in an email to students already on campus. “Damion attended a recent new student orientation session and was set to begin classes next week. He had a bright future ahead of him, and the Bowie State community feels the emotional toll of this tremendous loss to the class of 2023.”
Callery Jr. decided on a degree in business and marketing after enrolling at Maryland’s oldest HBCU. He was considered a “homebody” who was a good student and played pick up basketball games at courts in the neighborhood. He was rarely in trouble, and seemed to be a humble person.
Callery Sr. moved his family from the District to stay away from the perils of criminal behavior, however, life is unpredictable and sometimes fate has its own plan. The family and the community are hoping this tragedy will shine a light on gun violence. “I want these people locked up. I want them off the streets,” Callery Sr. demands, “They deserve to be punished for what they did to my baby.”
This tragedy is the latest to rock the Prince George’s County campus. Callery Jr.’s death follows the late Keshon Nowlin, a computer science major, who died from injuries suffered in a hit-and-run car accident on Aug. 10 in Baltimore. Nowlin was elected Mr. Black and Gold as part of the 2019-20 Royal Court at BSU and was an active member of the Bowie community.