JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Family members gathered Sunday to remember their loved one, a 19-year-old man killed in a shooting early last week.
Loved ones met for the vigil to honor the life of Jercoby Groover. He and his friends, Trevon Bullard and Royale Smith, were gunned down in a car as they drove near the St. John’s Town Center on Tuesday. Another man was shot as well, but he survived.
“Coby had potential to be somebody,” said Shantoria Rivers, Groover’s cousin. “He was somebody to us. They robbed us of that chance.”
Groover will be remembered as a bright college football player. He played in Virginia and was only in town visiting.
“It was a tragic loss,” Rivers said. “It’s just tragic. This is pain I’ve never felt before. Never. He was robbed of his chances to be a good dad to his son.”
Groover and his friends were out celebrating a birthday. His family said the men met in middle school.
Relatives were shocked to learn that the shooting might have been targeted.
When asked about her message to others, Tanishia Ravnell said she wants anyone with information to come forward.
“If you know something, say something,” said Ravnell, another of Groover’s cousins. “We all watch the news (and) we all think ‘Sad. But it’s not our family.’ Well, it’s our family, and it can be your family, too.”
On Sunday night, Groover’s family released balloons into the air in his honor. Family members said he was a great father, football player and a light to all who he encountered.
The reward for information leading to an arrest in the case has been increased to $8,000.
You can call Crime Stoppers and remain anonymous.