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Ohio Youth Football Coach Shot Dead In Front Of Team: ‘He Loved Every Last One Of These Kids’
“He loved this team with his heart and soul,” a mourner said of 37-year-old Trojan Black football coach Jermain Knox.
A beloved Ohio youth mentor and football coach was gunned down in the presence of several players moments after a practice ended this week, according to police.
Friends and family of Jermaine Knox, 37, who was shot and killed on Monday following a football practice in Cincinnati, are now memorializing the slain football coach.
Knox, known as “King Maine” to his team, was fatally shot outside College Hill Recreation Facility moments after a practice he was running for the Trojan Black Team ended on Tuesday night, the Associated Press reported.
On Oct. 18, Cincinnati police responded to the 1700 block of Larch Avenue after receiving reports of shots fired. Knox, who was found with gunshot wounds, was pronounced dead at the scene.
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A second shooting victim was rushed to hospital with a gunshot wound to his leg. The man, who wasn’t identified by law enforcement, is expected to survive, officials said. No minors were injured in the incident.
Police say Knox and the second shooting victim were standing on the street after practice concluded when a third man, identified as the alleged shooter, confronted the pair and opened fire, authorities said, according to Fox affiliate WXIX-TV.
No arrests have been made and a possible motive in the shooting hasn’t been released.. Police are now encouraging community members to come forward with any information that could lead to an arrest.
Hundreds of loved ones, including a number of youth players he coached, gathered for a candlelit vigil and balloon release for Knox on Wednesday on the football field steps from where he was fatally shot earlier this week, Cincinnati NBC affiliate WLWT reported.
“He was out here because he knew these kids needed him,” Pastor Peterson Mingo said, per the the Associated Press.
"The one thing about Jermaine, he loved this team with his heart and soul," one community member also said. "I only got one wish for the Trojan Black organization: to keep it going the same way he would."
Another mourner added: "If you knew Maine, you knew he loved every last one of these kids. There isn't anything he wouldn't do for anyone."
No other information was immediately released by officials. The investigation remains open and active. Oxygen.com has reached out to the Cincinnati Police Department for comment.
Anyone with additional information related to Knox’s murder is urged to contact Cincinnati police at 513-765-1212 or Crime Stoppers at 513-352-3040.
