CLEARWATER, Fla. — On July 19, Markeis McGlockton was shot and killed outside of a Clearwater convenience store. Two months later and the community continues to rally around the young father and his family.
A Wright Park in Clearwater dozens of people gathered to remember McGlockton. Family members that lost teens to violence also spoke out against violence in the black community.
"Everybody here felt to some degree what this family felt when they heard the incident happened and it affects one it effects us all this is the village, and we have to stick together," Marilyn Turman said.
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McGlockton's family members were too emotional to talk on camera or make a statement. Organizers set up tables for people to write letters for McGlockton's family to one day read. There was also an area for people to draw. Friends said McGlockton loved art and rapping.
Michael Drejka admitted to shooting and killing McGlockton in self-defense. Recently, he made public statements regarding the shooting. With the video surveillance capturing the shooting some people still don't believe his version of what happened.
Related: Florida's 'Stand Your Ground' shooter Michael Drejka speaks from Clearwater jail
"I just think that if he had shot and killed a white person, he would’ve been arrested right away he would’ve been charged with murder," Petia Rodewald a member of Mom's Demand Action for Gun Sense in America said. "In his mind, he was defending himself. But, from the looks from the tapes, he was just pushed away from an argument. And, he could’ve just walked away with a bruised ego. Instead, he took a person's life."
Drejka remains in a Pinellas County jail charged with felony manslaughter.
