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[h1]Black Lives Matter activist fatally shoots himself in front of Ohio Statehouse; tough work for causes took toll, family says[/h1]
A Black Lives Matter activist killed himself on the steps of the Ohio Statehouse, authorities said.
MarShawn McCarrel's family said his emotionally draining work may well have taken a toll on him. The 23-yearold shot himself in front of the Columbus building Monday night, Lt. Craig Cvetan of the State Highway Patrol told the Columbus Dispatch.
“My demons won today. I'm sorry,” the activist, who recently attended the NAACP Image Awards, posted on his Facebook page about 3 p.m., just hours before his body was found near the Statehouse.
His last tweet read: “Let the record show that I pissed on the state house before I left.”
No one witnessed the shooting, Cvetan said. McCarrel was pronounced dead at the scene.
His mother Leatha Wellington and twin brother MarQuan McCarrel later told the Dispatch he put his causes before himself.
They suspect the never-ending and disturbing nature of his activist and charity work left him mentally and physically exhausted in a way they didn't realize, they said.
"He impacted so many people, touched so many lives," Wellington said.
"He was just so creative," said McCarrel. "He just wanted to serve people."
McCarrel, who had recently worked with Black Lives Matter, helped organize protests in Ohio after a Missouri cop shot and killed unarmed black teenager Michael Brown in 2014.
He also founded youth mentorship program Pursuing Our Dreams, which launched Feed the Streets, a project to help Ohio's homeless.
He attended the NAACP’s Image Awards on Friday, Pursuing Our Dreams wrote on its Facebook.
The 23-year-old community organizer was named one of Radio One’s Hometown Champions, an award for community activists and volunteers, earlier this year and earned a trip to the California awards show. He took his mom to the Friday night ceremony.
"He is selfless and will give his last in order to make sure others don't go without,” read a nomination page for the Hometown
Champions Award. “MarShawn has come so far in life and has inspired so many people to help others”
McCarrel was homeless for three months after he graduated from high school — an experience that inspired him to help others, according to his nomination.
“When MarShawn got back on his feet, he felt the need to give back because so many people helped him when he was down,” it read. “MarShawn stresses the importance of having conversations with the people we feed because they'll get hungry in 2 hours but a good conversation will carry them over for a lifetime.”
“All everyone needs is love,” he told 614 Columbus in 2014, referring to his work with the Feed the Streets. “That’s a human being. That’s a pulse. We’re feeding everyone, we’re sending the message — today I got you; tomorrow, I could be right there.”
A Black Lives Matter activist killed himself on the steps of the Ohio Statehouse, authorities said.
MarShawn McCarrel's family said his emotionally draining work may well have taken a toll on him. The 23-yearold shot himself in front of the Columbus building Monday night, Lt. Craig Cvetan of the State Highway Patrol told the Columbus Dispatch.
“My demons won today. I'm sorry,” the activist, who recently attended the NAACP Image Awards, posted on his Facebook page about 3 p.m., just hours before his body was found near the Statehouse.
His last tweet read: “Let the record show that I pissed on the state house before I left.”
No one witnessed the shooting, Cvetan said. McCarrel was pronounced dead at the scene.
His mother Leatha Wellington and twin brother MarQuan McCarrel later told the Dispatch he put his causes before himself.
They suspect the never-ending and disturbing nature of his activist and charity work left him mentally and physically exhausted in a way they didn't realize, they said.
"He impacted so many people, touched so many lives," Wellington said.
"He was just so creative," said McCarrel. "He just wanted to serve people."
McCarrel, who had recently worked with Black Lives Matter, helped organize protests in Ohio after a Missouri cop shot and killed unarmed black teenager Michael Brown in 2014.
He also founded youth mentorship program Pursuing Our Dreams, which launched Feed the Streets, a project to help Ohio's homeless.
He attended the NAACP’s Image Awards on Friday, Pursuing Our Dreams wrote on its Facebook.
The 23-year-old community organizer was named one of Radio One’s Hometown Champions, an award for community activists and volunteers, earlier this year and earned a trip to the California awards show. He took his mom to the Friday night ceremony.
"He is selfless and will give his last in order to make sure others don't go without,” read a nomination page for the Hometown
Champions Award. “MarShawn has come so far in life and has inspired so many people to help others”
McCarrel was homeless for three months after he graduated from high school — an experience that inspired him to help others, according to his nomination.
“When MarShawn got back on his feet, he felt the need to give back because so many people helped him when he was down,” it read. “MarShawn stresses the importance of having conversations with the people we feed because they'll get hungry in 2 hours but a good conversation will carry them over for a lifetime.”
“All everyone needs is love,” he told 614 Columbus in 2014, referring to his work with the Feed the Streets. “That’s a human being. That’s a pulse. We’re feeding everyone, we’re sending the message — today I got you; tomorrow, I could be right there.”
