WASHINGTON (DC News Now) — Family and friends gathered along G Street in Southeast D.C. on Sunday for an emotional night.
“This ain’t easy,” Crystal Young said as she fought back tears.
She held a candlelight vigil for her son, Darius Young, who was fatally shot along Benning Road near H Street, not far from his home. He later died at the hospital.
“I don’t wish this on no mother, no father, no sister, no brother,” Crystal Young said about her 33-year-old son.
“This is the hardest thing that me and his dad will ever be, have to do,” Crystal Young told supporters who came out to the vigil.
Darius Young had been known as ‘Chef Nico’ as he took after his grandmother, who owned a restaurant in Anacostia, and his father, a former Metropolitan Police Department officer who now caters food.
“Chef Nico welcomed everyone to his table, offering not just food, but with joy and a sense of belonging,” said Pastor Shay Porter, a family friend.
Crystal Young said her son returned home after he delivered meals to the Fraternal Order of Police in Largo, Md. He then went back out to sell the remaining meals to his neighborhood just before someone shot and killed him.
“The fact he meant so much for you all to come out means a lot to me,” Crystal Young said.
D.C. police are offering a reward of up to $25,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the death of Darius Young.
