Author:ย Deirdre Byrne, Megan Rivers
PRINCE GEORGEโS COUNTY, Md. โ Prince Georgeโs County Police Department (PGPD) is investigating a shooting that happened Friday in District Heights that left a rap artist from the DMV area dead.
Police identified the person killed in a statement as 24-year-old Markelle Morrow. WUSA9 confirmed with Morrowโs family, that the District Heights native, known to fans as โGoonew,โ is a talented rap artist.ย
Officers found Goonew suffering from gunshot wounds around 5:45 p.m. Friday in a parking lot on the 2400 block of Walters Lane. He was taken to the hospital and was pronounced dead, a PGPD statement says.
WUSA9 spoke to Goonewโs family Saturday about the impact the artist had on his family and the community.ย
โI donโt believe this,โ his mother, Patrice Parker Morrow said, looking at images of her late son. โI really donโt. My babyโs gone.โ
Parker Morrow was surrounded by her daughters, all of whom were grief-stricken.ย
โAll he wanted to do is try to get his family out the hood,โ Parker Morrow said. โHe had a heart bigger than his body, when they took him, they took me.โ
Goonew was killed blocks away from the neighborhood where he was born. His mother says he was killed when he was on his way to give his sister a birthday gift, but never made it.
โI heard โฆ screaming that Markelle got shot down the street and my daughter ran straight out and I couldnโt move I this was shaking really bad my mouth starts shivering really bad,โ Parker Morrow said. โI just couldnโt move for a long long time.โ
Credit: Family of Markelle โGoonewโ MorrowGoonew, a successful rapper in the DMV area, was shot and killed in Prince Georgeโs County. He was 24-years-old.
In the parking lot where he was shot, a memorial sits. Goonewโs mother says it was ultimately a bullet to the back that killed him.
โThey wanted my son dead because he gave it up. They took his chain. They took his watch. He gave it up and they still shot him in his back,โ Parker Morrow said.
Theย Washington Postย described Goonewโs artistry, saying the rapper โseemed to understand that time is not uniform, and he proved it with astonishing style, his nuanced flows becoming closely associated with the DMV, influencing rappers in neighboring Zip codes andย overseas.โ
Goonew toldย Vice Newsย in an interview he started rapping in 2017. He has an average of 35,500 monthlyย Spotifyย listeners, more than 158,000ย Instagramย followers, and three of his music videos respectively have about 1 million views onย YouTube.
PGPD is still looking for anyone connected to Goonewโs death and is offering a $25,000 reward for information that can possibly lead to an arrest or conviction.ย
Anyone with information about the shooting should call detectives at 301-516-2512. People can also call theย Prince Georgeโs County Crime Solversย with anonymous tips at 1-866-411-8477.
Goonewโs mother has a message for her sonโs killed.ย
โI forgive you,โ she said. They took my son, hope they got what they wanted.โ