Jim Dey: Another fatal shooting raises the same question why? – Champaign/Urbana News-Gazette

Those nave, self-destructive young people who associate the long-running gang war in Champaign-Urbana with a romantic notion of living life on the edge should have been at the Salem Baptist Church about 90 minutes before Friday's funeral for Darien J. Carter.

The church was empty, save for a white casket bearing a floral display and holding the body of a young black man 24-year-old Mr. Carter.

Nihilism never looked so quiet, peaceful and pathetic.

Meanwhile, across town, another young black man was being arraigned on murder charges in connection with the fatal shooting of Mr. Carter.

Marquise T. Burnett, a 21-year-old Champaign man, was arrested Wednesday for shooting Mr. Carter on the previous Friday (June 2). Mr. Carter was riding a bicycle about 6:15 p.m. in the 500 block of East Eureka Street in Urbana when he was shot multiple times.

To sum it up one dead, one behind bars, more of both in the rearview mirror and surely more on the way.

It's impossible to describe the appeal those kind of numbers represent to the outlaws who generate them. They reflect a lack of respect for almost everything life and its fulsome possibilities most people hold dear.

Mr. Carter is the latest casualty of that mindless mind-set, his death drawing a church full of friends and family members who mourned his death and repeatedly asked how and why it could happen.

One of Mr. Carter's cousins said this was no ordinary funeral because "Busta didn't die at all."

"They killed my cousin in cold blood," he said, referencing Mr. Carter's nickname Busta DaHustla.

The cousin suggested retaliation against those he perceived responsible for Mr. Carter's death because "Busta didn't mess with nobody."

That suggestion drew a strong response from the Rev. Devita Benard, one of several ministers who presided at the emotional event.

"The Bible says, 'Vengeance is mine, I will repay,'" the Rev. Benard said. "Forgiving has to be the rule for this situation."

Friday's service was a combination of traditional mourning, a revival service emphasizing the love of God and pep rally urging members of the black community to protect its young people from the temptations that lead to deaths like that of Mr. Carter.

"We've got to stand up and take our children back," said the Rev. JoAnne Goodloe, a Chicago minster who is Mr. Carter's grandmother.

That will remain a significant challenge because the names of all the individuals involved in this latest incident are familiar to local police.

Burnett, the alleged shooter in this case, was a target in a 2015 drive-by shooting. Three local men were driving in the 600 block of West Beardsley Avenue in Champaign when they slowed down to fire at a group that included Burnett. He was struck in the leg.

The gunman, Kyjuan Dorsey, also accidently shot one of his companions, 18-year-old Jeremy O'Neal, in the head. Dorsey is now serving a 55-year sentence for killing O'Neal and 25 more for shooting Burnett. Now it's Burnett who is looking at a lengthy prison term if he is convicted.

At the time he was shot, Mr. Carter was awaiting a sentencing hearing on a charge of unlawful use of weapons by a felon.

Those sinister activities are a far cry from the descriptions of Mr. Carter included in Friday's service.

His grandmother described a smiling, happy youth who sent her holiday cards and frequently visited.

Goodloe reminded the audience that God gives life but that "it wasn't God who took my grandson."

"For those who did this to my grandson. ... I pray to God for forgiving hearts," she said, reminding that forgiving wrongdoers is "not about them."

"It's about you," she said.

One of Mr. Carter's uncles also spoke, discussing the challenges young black men face growing up in fractured families without positive role models. He said that he wished he could have offered better guidance to his nephew.

"I feel like I failed him," the uncle said. "It just breaks my heart to see him like this."

Judging by the tears, many members of the audience were in pain.

Goodloe acknowledged the hurt, noting that she has been the victim of a crime herself and that she also lost other family members to violence.

"So this, too, shall pass. It will take awhile, but this, too, shall pass," she said.

Jim Dey, a member of The News-Gazette staff, can be reached by email at jdey@news-gazette.com or by phone at 217-351-5369.

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Jim Dey: Another fatal shooting raises the same question why? - Champaign/Urbana News-Gazette