WADESBORO — The murder of a 16-year-old Anson High School athlete and potential paralyzing of his 15-year old cousin on Martin Luther King Day has cast a dark shadow over Wadesboro.
Police responded to a call of shots fired Monday evening. The officers found two juveniles, prone and bleeding, on the ground when they arrived on Oak Lane. 16 year-old Malik Byrd, who was found lying face down, was pronounced dead on the scene.
Byrd’s cousin, Chrishaun Hough was rushed to the hospital with injuries that could potentially paralyze him. Hough is a student at Monroe High School and a recent recent recipient of the Wayfind Scholarship. The scholarship is awarded by Wingate University and is given to future first-generation college students with good grades, good attendance and in good academic standing.
Minutes prior to the shooting, Byrd and Hough were playing at the basketball court located at Harvest Ministries. According to officials, there was an altercation during the game. Byrd and Hough left and were followed by another vehicle once they drove off the property.
On Oak Lane, the individuals in the other vehicle fired upon Byrd and Hough, killing Byrd and potentially paralyzing Hough. Hough is currently being treated at Levine Children’s Hospital and is being attended by his mother, Loretta Williams.
Few details about the shooting are available. The motivations behind the attack are unclear. No one knows for sure if the shooters were involved in gang activity. The suspects are, at this time, still at large. “Malik wasn’t in no gang,” said Byrd’s football coach, Ralph Jackson.
“We are conducting interviews and following leads,” said Wadesboro Police Chief Thedis Spencer.
Byrd, number 22, played running back, was a linebacker, and a kick returner on the JV football team. “He was a phenomenal athlete,” explained Coach Jackson, “This year, he won MVP for JV. Last year, I don’t think he won any rewards, but he was, by far, one of the biggest standouts we had as a freshman.”
“He had plans to try to further his education and play football. His mom told me that and that pierced my heart. He’s gone entirely too soon,” lamented Coach Jackson.
The events of Byrd’s final workouts on the Monday he was shot keep replaying in Jackson’s memory. It was sunny, yet cold that Monday morning, temperatures never rose above 40 degrees. Malik Byrd braved the weather to morning workout session from 10 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
“The thing that really hurts me the most is, Monday, he was in morning workouts, working really, really hard. He was working with two juniors, and, obviously, he’s a sophomore. He was struggling on finishing his pull-ups. So, I’m giving him a hard time, in a joking way, like coaches do. I go over and grab his feet so I can assist him in finishing his pull-ups. He says, ‘Thanks, Coach.’ I said something kinda funny to him, I said, ‘Boy, you’re getting weak on me,’ He said to me, ‘Naw, Coach, I’ll be ready. I will be ready.’ That keeps running through my head,” said Coach Jackson.
Byrd and Hough, would go to play a pick up basketball game at the Harvest Ministries court hours later that fateful evening.
“We are just devastated,” exclaimed Pastor Steve Adams speaking not only of himself but of the
community in general. Adams is the lead past at Harvest Ministries where the basketball court was located.
The entire Anson County community took the news of the shooting hard. Malik’s teammates were particularly distraught. “What I want my guys to understand is, I don’t want this to get numb to them. I want my players to understand that, yes, he may not be here physically, but as long as they do well and be successful, they’re going to fulfill Malik’s dream,” said Coach Jackson who added, “Malik was, by far, a team player when it came to team sports football. He would do whatever we asked him to, no questions asked. He played hard.”
A couple hundred people show up at a community prayer held at Harvest Ministries the night following the shooting. Several elected officials were present, including Chief Spencer and Anson County Sheriff Lancric Reid
“We prayed for this community. Of course, we need to do more than pray. As the good book says, prayer without good works is useless. So we need to put legs on our prayers and build this community as much as we can,” said Adams. There was also a vigil held at Peachland Baptist Church with Pastor Jerome Cash that same evening.
