JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Heartbreak and outrage were emotions shared by those who attended a vigil Wednesday night to remember a man and woman found shot to death in a car on the Southside.
The man and woman were identified as Jamarion Barnes, 21, and Tyniya Powell, 20. They were found in a parking lot on Bowden Road near I-95 — where Wednesday’s vigil was held.
“I’m tired,” said Latonya Nelson, a friend of Barnes’ family. “I’m tired of seeing the deaths. I’m tired of these kids killing each other. It doesn’t make any sense. They’re not living. They’re dying.”
Nelson said Barnes was like a nephew to her. She said he’d been playing football with her son since they were children.
“He was a sweet young man. He just became a father about a year ago,” Nelson said.
What led up to the shooting Tuesday night remains unclear. No arrests had been announced as of Wednesday evening.
Barnes’ mother, who attended the vigil, did not wish to speak publicly. Nelson says the mother has lost both of her sons to violence.
“It’s heartbreaking to know both of these young men were killed months apart,” Nelson said.
She said the gun violence in Jacksonville must stop.
“Let’s be real, some of these kids are lost. They’re lost in the street,” Nelson said. “If we can just save one or two of them and bring them back in, and for the younger ones coming up, let’s try to get them and reel them in to save them and stop this stuff from happening. These kids are killing each other.”
She’s asking anyone with information about Tuesday’s shooting to come forward to police or submit an anonymous tip to Crime Stoppers.