JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla. – Three months after a 23-year-old man was shot and killed in Jacksonville Beach, the gunman has yet to be identified or arrested.
But Glen McNeil Jr. is not forgotten. On Wednesday night, a permanent memorial was dedicated in his honor where he was killed at the corner of First Street North and First Avenue North.
McNeil would have turned 24 years old on Wednesday. Instead of singing happy birthday, people gathered in front of the new sidewalk memorial to remember him.
“I Charlie Latham, the mayor of Jacksonville Beach, do hereby proclaim this day as 'Glen McNeil Community Safety Day.'"
And with that proclamation, Jacksonville Beach Mayor Charlie Latham dedicated the permanent sidewalk memorial to McNeil.
McNeil’s family, friends and former classmates watched and cheered as it was unveiled. They said the memorial is more than just a symbolic gesture.
“It just shows how much of an impact he had on everybody ... The whole violence thing going on in Jacksonville, we just want it to end," said Drey Ransom and Dezire Reed, McNeil's former classmates.
During the early morning hours on July 5, McNeil was gunned down for reasons that have yet to be disclosed by investigators. No arrests have been made, but Latham told News4Jax on Wednesday that the new information could be released soon -- something that gives McNeil’s mother, Robin Davis, hope.
“I’m not surprised. I just knew it would be a matter of time, so I’m going to let them do their job and be patient and just hope that justice will be served," Davis said.
McNeil’s aunt, Gloria Chaplin, and so many others wore shirts Wednesday night with McNeil’s pictures, hoping the killer will turn himself in.
“We pray every day that he comes forward," Chaplin said. "And as a family, we’re taking it one day at a time.”
McNeil’s family asked anyone who may have seen anything the night Glen died to please call police.