An Ohio Black Lives Matter activist fatally shot himself Monday evening on the steps of the statehouse in Columbus, police said.
MarShawn McCarrel, 23, was pronounced dead at the scene after police responded to reports of a shooting near the front door of the Statehouse around 6 p.m. local time on Monday. Police told the Columbus Dispatch there were no witnesses.
McCarrel posted on Facebook shortly after 3 p.m., “My demons won today. I’m sorry.” His final tweet read, “Let the record show that I pissed on the state house before i left.”
He also posted photos of himself attending the NAACP Image Awards with his mother on Friday.
McCarrel was involved in organizing protests in Ohio after the fatal shooting of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri.
After being homeless for more than three months following his high school graduation, McCarrell founded Pursuing Our Dreams, a community group that launched a project to feed Columbus’ homeless population.
“We don’t believe in heroes. We believe in neighbors,” he told Columbus Underground about the group’s mission.
McCarrel’s Facebook page was awash in memorial posts Tuesday, with dozens of posts testifying to the lives he touched.
Oh, christ; that’s so sad. Depression is a terrible thing. My condolences to his family.
I hope his mother stays away from all media.
Cue the conservative clanging rookery crowing about the mental derangement of BLM leaders in… You know the rest.
I hope he’s found the peace he wasn’t able to find here. That, and what @Doremus_Jessup said: the commentariat on the right will probably be in full, poisonous throat.
Rest in peace guv.
Rest in peace