Homicide victims’ families hold memorial birthday celebration

JACKSON, Tenn. — Family and friends gathered Saturday to remember Markel Owens, who died after being shot in January 2014 on Walker Road in Jackson, and Eric Jackson Jr., who was shot and killed in Nashville last September.

The two families came together after learning the pair had a lot in common.

“They went to the same school. Birthdays were around the same time and they both loved football, so we just kind of got together and wanted to remember out loved ones and keep what they did alive,” event organizer and cousin to Eric Jackson Jr., Martavis Williams said.

Through song and speech, the two families celebrated their loved ones.

Steve Hookfin, who coached both Owens and Jackson at Liberty Tech, said their legacies are about much more than being victims of violence.

“Until my last days, these two young men will always be a part of me,” Hookfin explained. “Great young men. Had great futures ahead of them. Unfortunately, everything got cut short, but there’s a bigger picture in it all. Sometimes we don’t understand God’s plan, but he has a plan for everybody. I think that their work, even though they’re not here, they’re still going to do fantastic things through what they were about when they were here.”

It’s that message of hope, both families say they want to bring to the Hub City.

“Let’s be encouraging to people. Let’s promote things for our youth to do and our young adults to do. Let’s give them safe places to be a part of. Let’s just make Jackson a better place for our future generations to grow up,” Williams said.

Both families said they plan creating scholarship funds to help continue both Jackson and Owen’s legacies going forward in the Hub City.