Photo Credit: Goonew/Instagram
Goonew was a rising rapper in the DC area that was shot and killed this Friday, March 18th in District Heights, MD. The Prince George’s County, MD Police Department made a statement Saturday saying, “Homicide Unit detectives are working to identify and arrest the suspect(s) who fatally shot a man Friday in the unincorporated section of District Heights. The victim is 24-year-old Markelle Morrow of Washington, DC. A reward of up to $25,000 is being offered for information leading to an arrest and indictment in this case.”
This came after a Friday evening announcement of a shooting on Twitter that read, “We are investigating a fatal shooting that occurred in the 3400 block of Walters Lane in District Heights. At approx. 5:40 pm, officers responded to the area for a report of a shooting. Once on scene, they located an adult male suffering from a gunshot wound. The victim was taken to a hospital for life [threatening] injuries. At approx. 7:30 pm, the victim was pronounced dead.”
Goonew, whose real name was Markelle Morrow’s mother Patrice Parker Morrow told local news affiliate WUSA9, “I don’t believe this. He had a heart bigger than his body, when they took him, they took me.” She said he was killed not far from where he grew up and was on his way to give his sister a birthday present. “I heard … screaming that Markelle got shot down the street and my daughter ran straight out and I couldn’t move I this was shaking really bad my mouth starts shivering really bad.” she said. “I just couldn’t move for a long long time.”
A bullet to the back is what ultimately killed him. “They wanted my son dead because he gave it up. They took his chain. They took his watch. He gave it up and they still shot him in his back,” Parker Morrow said.
The Washington Post described Goonew’s flow as that he “seemed to understand that time is not uniform, and he proved it with astonishing style, his nuanced flows becoming closely associated with the DMV, influencing rappers in neighboring Zip codes and overseas.”
His mother had a message for his killer saying, “I forgive you. They took my son, hope they got what they wanted.”
