A vigil for murdered El Dorado teenager Octavius Critton was held Saturday evening at Mattocks Park, where people of all ages, races and faiths showed up to remember the young man.
“He was friendly with everyone,” said Luca Levingston, his classmate at El Dorado High School. “I’ve known El Dorado had a problem with gun violence for a long time, and this showed me — it could be anyone.”
Local religious and political leaders attended the vigil. Ward 3 City Councilmember Willie McGhee called for an end to gun violence, a call he had been making for almost 10 years since he first started his ‘Stop the Violence’ campaign after the death of Antonio Harris in 2011.
“One person can’t do it, but 1,000 people, 10,000 people, one million people — we can do it,” McGhee said. “This affects everybody. It doesn’t matter what side of the city it happens in. … It’s not a black issue, it’s not a hispanic issue, it’s not a white issue, evil is evil … and we have to come together.”
El Dorado residents may remember seeing McGhee standing at the corner of 5th and N. West every Saturday, sometimes alone and sometimes with members of his family, for six years between 2011 and now with signs reading hopeful messages like ‘love kills hate’ and ‘stop the violence.’
Along with Octavius, other Union County children and adults lost to gun violence were recognized. Pastor Erma Jackson, of Faith in the Word Christian Center, recounted the first funeral she ever presided over — Antonio Harris’.
“My grandmother stayed by a chicken plant. We slept out on the front porch — nobody, nobody ever bothered us, except the mosquitos,” Jackson said. “It was packed today (at Octavius’ funeral). It shouldn’t take a funeral to impact all those young people. … We’ve got to change these laws.”
Several of Critton’s teammates, classmates and family members were in attendance as well.
“It’s weird to walk past my cousin’s house every day. He lived right around the corner,” said Kevmesha Green. “I feel like my neighborhood isn’t safe anymore.”
Green graduated from El Dorado High School last year. She said she thinks the only way she can feel safe now, after Octavius’ death, is to leave El Dorado.
Kelly Reyes, leader of El Dorado’s chapter of Moms Demand Action, an organization that works to change public policy in order to curb gun violence, was in attendance with several EHS students who are working to build a student chapter at their school.
“Something’s gotta be done about this,” said Rahiem Cain, one of Octavius’ teammates on the El Dorado Wildcats. Cain said he plans to work with his classmates to build the Moms Demand student group.
“He was a good kid. He had character,” Rahiem said about Octavius. “He always made me laugh. He had goals, he was getting better at football. … None of us knew we were going to lose him.”
Critton was shot and killed on Aug. 11, two days before he was to start his senior year of high school. Several other young men have been injured or killed with guns in Union County in recent months, including Michael Edwards, 20, of Smackover, killed last October during a robbery; Brandon Parker, 27, and Randy Miller, 22, of El Dorado, shot and Parker killed in June during a robbery; and Randall D. Farlin, 22, of El Dorado, killed in April, among others — the list could go on. Shots rang out at a memorial for Farlin, too, though no one was injured then.
“I feel like it wasn’t supposed to happen like this,” said Jeremiah Jackson, another of Octavius’ classmates. Jeremiah and Octavius had been classmates since kindergarten, he said. “It didn’t feel right” starting his senior year without his friend, he said.
“Long live Tay,” he concluded, referring to Octavius’ nickname Yts Tay.
Mayor Veronica Smith-Creer became emotional as she pleaded with attendees to do their part to end gun violence, whether that meant teaching their children that violence isn’t the answer or lobbying their representatives to make guns harder to obtain.
“I’m not here as a politician; I’m here as a parent,” she said. “I’m talking about raising our kids to be people who care about people, people who love people. … I hope everybody has the same anger that Willie was talking about; I hope that all of us have gotten angry enough that just talking about it is not enough.”
Smith-Creer, McGhee and Reyes encouraged those in attendance to contact their representatives if they are unhappy with current gun regulations. McGhee said he would like to see high-capacity magazines banned. The local Moms Demand group meets the last Monday of the month at Applebees; those interested in joining can contact other members through the group’s Facebook page.
An investigation into Octavius’ murder is ongoing. El Dorado Police public information officer Lt. Chris Lutman said last Wednesday that no suspects are currently in custody, but that the EPD does have a lot of evidence to sift through still. Police currently believe that a dispute on social media could have led to Octavius’ killing.
Attendees seemed to leave the vigil Saturday evening a bit lighter than they arrived. Several students said they planned to participate in the student chapter of Moms Demand at EHS once it becomes official. All said they hope to see a change in our community.
“It may not be politically correct to say, but we need to get back to God, and we need to understand the true value of life,” Smith-Creer said. “If we’re not willing to do that, there’s going to continue to be gun violence and there’s going to continue to be evil and there’s going to continue to be hate. … You don’t fight hate with hate; you fight hate with love.”
Caitlan Butler can be reached at 870-862-6611 or [email protected].