Loved ones gather to honor 19-year-old killed in tragic shooting
Michael Logerwell
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – Thirty minutes into Sunday, April 26, police officers sped out to a large parking lot along Powers Blvd. At the scene, the Colorado Springs Police Department says their officers found three victims, all of whom had been shot at least once.
An adult man and a juvenile girl were sent to a local hospital, where police say they are in stable condition. The third victim, a 19-year-old man, died from his injuries at the scene despite treatment from first responders at the scene.
The El Paso County Coroner’s Office is identifying him as 19-year-old Cortez Mason Jr, or as his loved ones know him, CJ.
“There are no words strong enough to describe what it feels like to lose a child. There’s a silence in my life now that is louder than anything I’ve ever known. Every morning I wake up, and I remember he is gone,” Brandi Howell, CJ’s mother, spoke through tears at the event.
Family members tell KRDO13 CJ was coming home from his second day of work at a nearby fast food restaurant when he was caught in the gunfire.
Tonight, friends and family meeting in the space of tragedy to remember a young man gone too soon
“Love should never have to fight this hard to survive,” Howell said.
KRDO13 reached out to the police department for an update on the investigation. A spokesperson for the police department said the case is a high priority. Their officers are making progress, but there is no information they can share publicly at this time.
If you have any information about the shooting and homicide, you are urged to call the Colorado Springs Police Department at (719) 444-7000. If you wish to remain anonymous, you can call the Crime Stoppers Tip Line at (719) 634-STOP (7867) or 1-800-222-8477.