JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A Haitian immigrant shot and killed Monday at McDonald's on Baymeadows Road was supposed to be preaching Tuesday night at his church in Lakewood.
Instead, members of the Haitian Mission Evangelical Church remembered 45-year-old Raynold Orelus, a McDonald's employee who died while trying to stop his manager from being robbed.
Recommended Videos
Police later arrested 28-year-old Nesta Walker after a car and foot chase and charged him with murder in Orelus' killing. [Full Story]
Orelus was supposed to preach as part of a seven-day revival, and church members said they carried on with the service because that's what Orelus would've wanted.
"We were sad that we lost him, but we were more sad for his wife, for his kids, not for his life because he's better where he is right now than on this world," said Gesner Jean Philippe, a guest speaker at the church. "That's why we have to keep going to give his family hope."
Orelus had worked as a maintenance man at the Baymeadows restaurant for less than a year in an effort to send money home to four of his children still in Haiti, who were displaced by January's earthquake and have been living in the streets.
Video:
He lived with his wife, Miraclide Orelus, and their 2-year-old son, along with other close friends and relatives in Jacksonville. Now his family is trying to get his other children from Haiti to Jacksonville at least temporarily for his funeral.
Miraclide said her husband came to the U.S. in 2004 after obtaining a work visa, and he hadn't seen his other children in six years. They have lived in Jacksonville for two years. She said their children were told Monday that their father was killed.
"They cannot talk. They're daddy was their everything," Miraclide said through an interpreter. "Every day they asked, 'When we're going to see you? When we're going to see you? When we're going to see you?'"
"They're daddy is the bread-maker, you know, sending whatever he can," said Elizabeth Denis, who attends the church with the family. "Now he's gone, so what's next?"
David Mullins Sr., the owner of the McDonald's, said in a statement Tuesday that McDonald's will make a $5,000 donation to help Orelus' family.
"We would first like to acknowledge that this continues to be a very difficult time for everyone touched by yesterday's tragic event," Mullins wrote. "My family and our restaurant staff will always consider Ray a part of the McDonald's family. Our thoughts and prayers remain with Ray Orelus' family and friends. All who knew and worked with him will miss him greatly."
A collection was set up Tuesday at the McDonald's for donations for Orelus' family, and balloons and flowers marked the spot where Orelus was killed.
The family has opened up an account for donations at Vystar Credit Union. Anyone wishing to contribute can do so at any Vystar branch in the name of Miraclide Orelus, account No. 702809176.