GoFundMe, Facebook The Texas A&M shooting victims include Kevin Berry, family members say.
Police now say that two people died when an unknown suspect opened fire at a Homecoming Party that was attended by many Texas A&M students. Family members and friends have identified one of those two shooting victims on social media as Kevin Berry, who was known as “Choppaboy Wess.”
They are filling social media with tributes to Berry, and there’s a GoFundMe account set up by a neighbor and now organized by his mother. You can learn more about Berry below.
“Broke my heart inna different way… say y’all keep y’all family close and make sure y’all talk with them daily because at any moment they could be gone from your reach RIP COUSIN Kevin Berry,” wrote one woman on Facebook. A friend responded, “omg nooooo d*mn he was good people ?.” Another friend wrote, “RIP Choppaboy Wess ??” A woman responded, “Took him from his kids bro ??.” Gunfire erupted at a vigil for Berry.
The second victim has not yet been identified, and this post will be updated when that person is named. Authorities have not formally named either victim, nor have they formally confirmed Berry’s name. The sheriff said in a news conference on October 27, 2019 that 14 people were injured. Of those, four were injured in the melee that resulted, not from bullet wounds. An extremely graphic and disturbing video showed people trying to tend to the wounded at the Party Venue establishment.
The mass shooting occurred in the early morning hours in Greenville, Texas. It was a homecoming and Halloween event for students from Texas A&M University, which has a campus nearby in Commerce. However, it was not formally affiliated with the campus, nor was it on campus, and the victims were not all students, according to the sheriff. He added that four or five of the wounded were students, and the two deceased victims were men. It was not clear whether the two deceased victims were students. The suspect is at large, and authorities are trying to get a good description. The motive is not clear.
Here’s what you need to know:
Kevin Berry AKA Choppaboy Wess Was Named in Tributes by Family Members, a Neighbor & Friends
On Facebook, Berry wrote that he lives and is from Pleasant Grove, Texas. “When dont nobody believe in you…You believe in yourself ❗❗” he wrote recently on Facebook. “I Can’t Fall Off I Might Stumble A Lil But That’s Part Of Life❗️” he also wrote.
He filled his Facebook page with photos showing him with wads of cash. Several photos show him pointing a weapon at the camera. On October 25, he wrote about being in court. “I’m At Court And Seen Tha Law Walk Them Jailway Sandwiches Across Tha Hall… I Already Know What Time It Is Ima Be Here For A Min ?” he wrote on October 25. On October 17, he wrote that he had been shot at.
In one now chilling post, he wrote the day before he died: “…let’s walk to the cemetery to show u where u gone end up if u play wit me?.” On October 24, he wrote, “Idc How Hard It’s Raining I’m Going To A Haunted House Today ??♂️”
“Rip lil brudda (Wess) Kevin Berry?????? #flyhigh #anotherangelcalledhome #gonebutneverforgotten,” a friend wrote on Facebook.
The GoFundMe page organized by his mother was originally created by a neighbor. “My neighbor nakima son was attending a party at a establishment tonight 10/26 in Greenville TX. He is from Dallas Texas. He’s a young father & just started his adult life. Pic is him & his children,” it says.
“He was with his younger brother & friends @ the party when gunfire broke out & several people were shot. There is videos of it all over Facebook. She is a personal friend of mine & a tenant at the complex I manage & MY UPSTAIRS NEIGHBOR. Tonight when I got home I heard her & her teen children screaming threw the walls & I ran up there. Her baby girl fell in my arms and just screamed for her brother. He wasn’t at the party causing problems he DIDNT have a altercation with anyone he was a victim to a random shooter along with 4/5 other people.”
The page continues that Berry’s mother is “a struggling single mom & im putting this in her name & all $ will go directly to her account to burry (sic) her son. I’ll update once we know a price the funeral home wants it just happened but I can’t even imagine grieving the loose of a child, comforting her other kids & grand kids! Anything helps even if you can’t donate please share this campaign to burry Kevin berry! God bless you and thank you.”
The neighbor later explained how the mom got involved with the GoFundMe page, writing, “UPDATE I promised the mother I would make this in her name and that when she got back I would give her the login information so she could attach her account. I was attacked and smashed the topics page for sharing this saying I didn’t even know if he was dead and yes I do her younger son faced time video chatted her and confirmed his brother was deceased. I was sitting in her living room when all of this happened and he kept apologizing to his mother and she told him it wasn’t his fault I did not know at the time this was a college homecoming I did not know at the time that more than five people were shot because of the video I saw there was only five and I did not know at the time anything except my friend lost her son!”
READ NEXT: Read More Details on the Shooting.