Community remembers Montgomery County teen accidentally shot, killed by friend
MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. - A Maryland community is remembering a student who was shot and killed by his friend over the weekend. Montgomery County police say the suspect is currently facing a number of charges, including manslaughter.
What we know
The Kennedy High School community is remembering Derrick Palmer, 16, who was killed over the weekend in Beltsville.
FOX 5 spoke with Palmer's father, who said his son was a normal teenage boy who enjoyed hanging out with his friends, video games, sports and had dreams of playing college football.
"My son has played football most of his life. That's one of his true passions. His true joys," dad Quentin Palmer said.
From the age of four years old, the football field was one of Derrick Palmer's favorite places to be.
"He wanted to play ball in college. He was looking forward to completing this year," Quentin Palmer said.
He was completing his junior year at John F. Kennedy High School but those dreams were cut short on Saturday afternoon inside his Beltsville home on Heartwood Drive. Prince George's County police were called to the house about a shooting.
When they arrived, they found Palmer with at least one gunshot wound. He was rushed to the hospital where he later died. Police say his 'friend' 18-year-old Kimaury Kamara shot him while playing with a gun.
According to court documents, Kamara told investigators he pointed the gun at Palmer "believing the handgun did not have a round in the chamber, pulled the trigger, striking in the head."
Police say they also found several other guns in the room during a search.
What they're saying
"We are just trying to take it one day at a time," Derrick's father, Quentin Palmer said.
He says he left the house just moments before the shooting.
"He was in very good spirits. He was actually getting ready to go out and get dinner," Quentin Palmer said.
In a statement, Palmer's coaches at Kennedy High say, "he was brother to his teammates, a young man of tremendous character, heart and determination."
As his family grieves and tries to pick up these pieces, Palmer has some words for other parents.
"Make sure your kids are always safe and secure," Quentin Palmer said. "The high school also put out a letter today, expressing sadness and informing parents that school psychologists are available for students and staff."
The school community plans on honoring Palmer's memory in the coming days.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Washington Post
16 minutes ago
- Washington Post
D.C.-area police promise more patrols at synagogues after Boulder attack
Fairfax County police, responding to Sunday's attack on a Jewish gathering in Boulder, Colorado, said they will increase patrols around synagogues and other places of worship, and D.C. and Montgomery County police said they would continue an already heightened response to a recent act of apparent antisemitic violence in the District.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Four wounded, one killed in southern Virginia shooting
June 2 (UPI) -- Five people were shot, including one person fatally, in a shooting that erupted at a large outdoor gathering in southern Virginia over the weekend, authorities said. According to preliminary information, the early Sunday shooting involved gunmen in a Chrysler sedan and individuals at a party in the 100 block of Carver Drive in Danville, a city of about 42,000 near the Virginia-North Carolina border. The Danville Police Department said in a statement that the shooting occurred shortly before 1:30 a.m. local time Sunday. Officers dispatched to the area following reports of shots fired found a deceased man, later identified as Jay'Shaun Tiejae White, 22, in the front passenger seat of a Chrysler sedan with gunshot wounds to his upper body. Officers found the suspected driver of the vehicle, identified as a 26-year-old man, suffering from a gunshot wound on an adjacent street. The victim was then transported by ambulance to Sovah Health Danville. Three additional victims later arrived on their own at the health center with injuries from the gunfight, the police department said. The victims have been identified as two men, ages 31 and 25, and a 19-year-old woman. The woman has since been treated and released, while the three men have been transferred to other medical facilities, police said. Juwan Montel Baker, 26, of Danville, has been arrested in connection with the shooting. Police said he was a passenger in the sedan, and he has been charged with three counts each of discharging a firearm from a moving vehicle, malicious wounding and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. According to The Gun Violence Archive, there have been at least 127 mass shootings involving four or more people shot so far in the United States this year.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Houston brides lose over $153k to 'Wedding Scammer'; Charleston Lane investigation continues
The Brief Charleston Lane's former operator is accused of running off with payments from Houston couples and not delivering services. The current total from our reporting is over $153 thousand in losses. Authorities are investigating the Willis wedding venue after FOX 26 aired a story on allegations of fraud. More possible victims are coming forward alleging losses and unauthorized credit card payments. FOX26 continues the investigation into the former operator of the Charleston Lane venue in Willis, Texas. The total losses of possible victims who have come forward now totals more than $153,000. The backstory In March, FOX 26 broke the story of a Houston bride who lost more than $50 thousand to the former operator after showing up to the venue the day before her wedding to locked doors. After the story aired, the Montgomery County District Attorney confirmed that the Sheriff's office launched an investigation into the matter. A follow-up story featured more victims coming forward telling similar tales of unfulfilled services, locked doors and bounced refund checks. The venue is now under new ownership according to the current owner. FOX26 is not reporting the name of the former operator because no criminal charges have been filed, but it is reported in 'The Wedding Scammer' podcast by Justin Sayles. Sayles alleges this operator has been defrauding people nationwide for years. What they're saying Possible victims, like Rashidah, are continuing to speak out. "I saw [the previous] story, and I was like, oh my gosh, that's sad and that's when I reached out to you, I didn't even know the place was closed," she said. She has a wedding date set at Charleston Lane in September, but she doesn't think it's going to happen. "I tried calling the numbers are out of service and tried emailing but haven't gotten a response," she said. She says she spent $2,225 booking the venue and paid through Zelle. "I was a little skeptical of it at first because the names didn't match up," she said. But the operator confirmed it was the right account and she proceeded. "I sent the payment, they sent me a receipt saying they had received the payment and ever since then I have not heard back from them," she said. Chanell Joseph says she's getting the same "ghosting" treatment. "The numbers are out of service, the emails bounce back," she said. Joseph has her wedding at the venue in March. She says it was beautiful and everything went well - until the food came out. "All the food was cold, room temperature to cold," she said, adding that the menu items weren't correct either. "It wasn't what we paid for." She says the former operator agreed to refund 50 percent of the food cost as well as her security deposit. "We were looking at about $5,500 to $6,000 he was supposed to be refunding me back. I thought that was very fair," she said. But then, the operator stopped picking up the phone. "I didn't receive a dime, I have not received a dime to date," she said. She says once she saw FOX 26's reports, she started digging. "That got my wheels turning and I started going through credit card documentation." Joseph says she sent the operator a credit card authorization form to submit payments. Looking through the documentation, which FOX 26 verified, payments matching the amounts for her wedding were taken out, but were not sent to Charleston Lane. One payment was sent to an insurance company and the other to an apparent apartment complex. "I pulled up the invoice from Charleston lane where it said I had made the payment and pulled up my credit card statement. It was the exact same amount on the exact same date," she said. "I'm only led to believe that he allegedly used my credit card number to pay off these other people, but pawned it off as me paying on the invoice." "Don't give up," said Rashidah. "I know it's going to be a long journey for all of us. It won't happen overnight, but don't give up. We're going to have our wedding, and we need to get our money back." What's next FOX 26 has now made contact with 11 people who say this former operator owes them money or defrauded them in some way. Through documentation, the total losses between all those individuals were calculated to be $153,308. What you can do Those with a similar story or information on the matter are asked to contact the sheriff's office at 281-577-8971. FOX 26's Abigail Dye is continuing the investigation. If you have a story to share, she can be reached by email at The Source This article was written with information from possible victims, financial documentation those individuals provided, information from the Montgomery County District Attorney and previous FOX26 reporting.
