Family mourns victim of Family Dollar shooting
Photo courtesy of Janine Pitner
Photo courtesy of Janine Pitner
Darnell “Cuddy” Brown, 41, of Washington, with his fiancée, Leeann Group, their son, and her children in a recent photo
Photo courtesy of Janine Pitner
Darnell “Cuddy” Brown, left, and his late brother, Troy Lamont Brown, who died of a gunshot wound in 2009 at the age of 23.
Photo courtesy of Janine Pitner
At right, Darnell “Cuddy” Brown, 41, of Washington, stands in front of a Christmas tree, with his nephew, his children and his mother, Cheryl Brown, center.
Photo courtesy of Janine Pitner
At center, Darnell “Cuddy” Brown stands on a sidewalk with four of his six children in a recent photo.
Darnell “Cuddy” Brown will always be remembered as “a family man.”
The Washington man had five sons, a daughter and five stepchildren he was helping to raise.
“His boys look up to him with all their heart,” said Janine Pitner, mother of two of Darnell’s children and friend to the family. “He is their role model. They’re devastated.”
Darnell, 41, was shot and killed Tuesday afternoon in the parking lot of Family Dollar on Highland Avenue. His fiancée, Leeann Group, along with one of his children and five stepchildren – all under the age of 10 – were in a nearby vehicle and witnessed the shooting.
“Those kids need people to pray for them,” Pitner said.
Police are still searching for the shooter, who’s believed to be Zackory James Sadler, 36, of Donora.
Darnell’s sister, Nyieka Speer-Brown, called her brother a loving and welcoming person.
“Every time you saw him he was smiling,” she said. “He had a hard life himself, but he completely changed his whole life and became a family man. He took care of his kids every day.”
Speer-Brown said this is the second brother she’s lost. Her other brother, Troy Lamont Brown, also died from a gunshot wound in 2009. He was 23 years old.
“We’ve all been through a lot of things,” she said. “Losing (Darnell) is hard, and to see my mom go through this again is hard. To see his kids go through this is hard.”
Darnell loved music, including the music his late brother Troy made, along with artists like Biggie Smalls and Scarface. He loved hats and shoes, especially Jordans.
He loved the community, and the community loved him.
“When certain people die in the community, it doesn’t just change the family, it changes the entire community,” Speer-Brown said. “He was well-loved.”
The community raised more than $4,400 on the GoFundMe platform for Darnell’s funeral expenses. People also showered his Facebook page with love, memories and prayers.
“He was embedded in the community, so this hit home for a lot of people,” Pitner said. “The family is receiving an outpouring of love. Please continue to share your stories of him.”
Funeral arrangements have been made and will be private for the family, Pitner said.
“With COVID, it’s making everything so hard, because the funeral home would be absolutely packed with people who loved him,” she said.
That’s why the family is having a vigil for Darnell at 8:30 tonight in front of the Family Dollar, where Darnell died.
“This is an opportunity to allow people to share their love for him together,” Pitner said. “His favorite colors were red and black, so they’ll release red and black balloons. It’s going to be very difficult, especially for his kids and family.”
Pitner said the family asked Washington police to maintain a presence at the store during the vigil, since Sadler is not yet in custody.
“With Zach still out, it is a concern, because we’re not sure what his motive was or is,” Pitner said. “It’s kind of scary to think about what he would do next.”