INDIANAPOLIS — Daiontez Locke's family is still trying to wrap their heads around the fact their son is no longer here a week after police found him shot to death in a car on the northwest side of Indianapolis.
Locke's parents want him to be remembered for how he lived and loved those around him, and they want whoever shot their 21-year-old son on Oct. 19 to be held responsible.
"I'm angry, but I don't have any malice or anything in my heart. I want, I want, the murders and stuff to just stop. Because it's not going to bring my son back," Kelly Langford, Locke's mother, said. "Do you have children? What if somebody did this to your child?"
Those questions just add to the sadness Langford and Locke's father, Rennel Johnson, have dealt with over the past week.
"I've just been praying justice will prevail because I mean, we're hurting," Langford said. "And I really, I have forgiven these individuals. And it wasn't for them, it's for me. And I pray that their mother doesn't have to endure the pain I'm enduring."
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As police continue working on the case, Locke's parents hope someone comes forward with information on who killed him.
"I've been trying to wrap my head around (why someone would want to hurt him)," Langford said. "I would say maybe jealousy or, I mean something that was done, I really don't know. I just, I really can't say so I've just been stepping back, let the detectives do their job."
His mom and dad said they are remembering the good things about their son, who had a son of his own.
"He was fun. He was really fun. He was loving. He loved to hang out. He worked. He was a new father. His new son is getting ready to be five months at the end of this month," Langford said.
Locke's father is hoping to stop another young black man from becoming a gun violence statistic.
"A big part of me is gone. Me and my son used to gather every day. From the time he's been here up until the time he left," Johnson said. "To all the young black men out there. Put the guns down. It's just not worth it. I hope no parent ever has to endure the pain that we are going through right now."
