‘Good young man’: Family, friends honor victim of Charlotte banquet hall shooting
Jaelen McCormick’s murder was antithetical to the way he lived his life, his mother said.
“If you look on his social media page, you won’t see a gun, you won’t see anything about gun violence, you won’t see anything about a gang,” Whitney Givens said in a phone interview. “How his life was taken was something that my son never promoted.”
That’s what made the 20-year-old’s death on July 7, outside S&D Banquet Hall where he was shot in the stomach, especially shocking and cruel, Givens said.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg police have not arrested anyone, and suspect someone attending an event at the banquet hall was the intended target. Jaelen’s family and friends don’t believe he was the target.
He was sweet and caring, Givens said. He treated everyone with respect, didn’t have enemies, and made friends with people quickly.
His friend, Najeh de la Cruz, knows from experience. The two became friends quickly after meeting in December.
They bonded over a love of sports and ended up working together at parties — Jaelen as a videographer, and de la Cruz as a DJ.
“He was a friendly giant,” said de la Cruz, better known by his stage name, DJ Cowboy. “He was so nice … he always had a great energy.”
The night of the shooting
The pair were working at the banquet hall on University City Boulevard, where someone was throwing a pajama party.
Jaelen was putting his camera in his car when someone fired a gun, hitting him, de la Cruz said. There was a lot of confusion about what happened.
Once he realized what happened, he and other people ran outside to assist Jaelen.
“I was out there trying to move people out of the way so they could bring him back inside,” de la Cruz said. “It was like an unreal feeling. I couldn’t process that he got shot.”
And it can still be hard to process, de la Cruz said. Jaelen was “the friendliest, most unproblematic person,” and the party wasn’t all that wild. The banquet hall didn’t have alcohol and no one was intoxicated, de la Cruz said.
“This person … got shot for nothing,” de la Cruz said. “I was with that man until his last breath.”
Because he wanted to honor Jaelen, de la Cruz organized a memorial last week. About 50 to 60 people came together to honor “a genuinely good person,” de la Cruz said.
Jaelen’s family, especially his siblings, have struggled with the unexpected loss, his father, Wilbert McCormick said.
Funny, smart and kind
“He was a smart kid,” McCormick said of his son.
He could hold a conversation with anyone and was an active person, McCormick said.
Jaelen was also honest. He was respectful, but if you asked him a question, he was going to give you an honest answer, McCormick said.
“He’s gonna tell you the honest truth,” McCormick said. “He ain’t gonna sugarcoat it.”
Givens gave birth to Jaelen on Dec. 21, 2005. He grew into a dependable, funny adult.
“I had on makeup on the Fourth of July, and I went to walk to the carnival in our hometown,” Givens said. Jaelen said, “‘You’re gonna walk to the carnival? That makeup ain’t gonna make it, mama.’”
Jaelen loved being outdoors, and participated in wrestling, t-ball and football throughout his childhood. But three years ago, his career as a defensive end came to an end after he got sepsis.
“He was in the hospital for about 30 days,” Givens said.
McCormick said that Jaelen found a new appreciation for life after overcoming his illness. He became more confident too.
“He started dressing nice, then he got his job and started making sure he took care of himself,” McCormick said. “He was turning into a real good, young man.”
Making plans
Jaelen had just shared his plans for the future with his parents on July Fourth, Givens said.
In the short term, he planned to work full-time at a rehabilitation center with disabled adults, she said. But long term, he wanted to pursue videography and party planning and promotion.
He had started working as a party videographer about five months ago, and developed a passion for it, Givens said.
“He really took pride in recording content and editing videos,” she said. “He would upload them and would edit them for YouTube and that’s what made him happy.”
However, his ultimate goal, Givens said, was finding stability.
“I have a message in my phone, and he told me, ‘Mama, I am going to eventually make you real proud,’” Givens said. “He wanted to help me, he wanted to help his brothers, his sisters, and he wanted to be financially stable. That was his goal.”
Givens said the family is holding a funeral for Jaelen on Wednesday.
