I Question Murder Being Blamed on Gang Activity

By John Kuykendall

If you are watching the news, or heard about the teens charged in the murder of a Manchester High football player, you probably have heard “gang activity.” I have to question that and I have good reason to.
Part of my job at the newspaper is covering sports for Manchester High and Central of Talbotton. As a reporter, you get to know the players. While you may not know everything about them, you do get to know a good bit about them, their character and more.
As a reporter, I’ve also had to cover the shooting murder of Daryus Bryant and the arrest of the young men from Talbotton reportedly involved in the incident. I heard, as the bond hearings got underway, suspected gang activity was mentioned. I couldn’t believe it!
I knew Daryus Bryant pretty well. I got to know him when he was playing middle school ball and even more when he moved into high school athletic activities at Manchester High. I also knew Semj Copeland pretty well because he was a student athlete at Central High.
I do not believe that Bryant or Copeland were involved in gang related activities.
Daryus was well-respected in the community. He was very respectful, and never had any trouble in school or the community – that I’m aware of, anyway. He was active in many community events, was a Christian and always respectful of others.
I would see Copeland around Central High and at sporting activities at the school. Again, he was a respectful young man, always showed good character and, as far as I know, never got into serious trouble.
There is no doubt that kids will be kids. They are not perfect, like every other human, and they will make mistakes.
I don’t know how or why this tragedy occurred. I’m sure that the details will be brought out during the court process. What I do know is the affect the tragedy has had on the families and the communities. As a former coach of young men, it hurts my heart to even think things like this can happen and my prayers go out for the families.
I had one player shot and killed and another arrested for shooting and killing another teenager. In both of those incidents, it was all about a girl.
As a former coach, I can tell you that student-athletes are always under pressure. They are under the pressure to be a leader at school and in the community. They are under pressure to succeed in the classroom and in competition. They are held to a high standard and are taught life lessons such as self discipline, hard work, determination and above all, sportsmanship. They are also taught that every negative action comes with a penalty.
I was shocked when I heard that Daryus had been shot and killed. To this day I question why it happened, but I have not suspected “gang activity” at any time as being a part of this.
But the reality is, this did happen and it is something both communities have been afraid might happen, but not between student-athletes. Now that is has happened, what is next?
Semj is young, Zion Horton is young and they are now in a serious situation.
Not a day has gone by since this occurred in April 2024, that my prayers have gone out for the Bryant family and for closure for the family.
Now, I’m having to pray for all the families of those involved in this terrible tragedy, as well as the young men that I’ve come to know over the years.
I continue to be extremely sad and can’t help but wonder what could have been. What could have been for Daryus? What could have been for Semj, Zion and JaQuan Mahone? All of them had their entire lives still ahead of them.
One life lost, the lives of the other three ruined. It’s a tragedy for every family involved and the respective communities.
I hope, if anything good can come from such a tragedy, that this will help young people to realize that death is final, that there are consequences for their actions, and that life can change or end in the blink of an eye. I also hope that, at some point, the communities can put this all behind them and come together as neighbors again.
I ask all the prayer warriors out there to keep these families and young men in your prayers. It is my prayer that God will bring healing to the families, help heal the scares and soften hearts.
Above all, I pray that we all remember that no matter what happens, we must never forget that forgiveness and love is God’s way – and it should be our way.

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