Markayla Roberts loved drawing Spider-Man. The 14-year-old was known by her family, friends and schoolmates for being artistic and creative.
Roberts, who was shot and killed on April 27 in Fairfax while sleeping in bed, was the center of an Allendale community trip to South Carolina Statehouse in Columbia.
The family of Roberts, as well as leaders from the community gathered June 5 on the statehouse steps to rally, pray and speak with Representative Lonnie Hosey about how to address Allendale County’s high rate of gun violence.
On the steps of the South Carolina statehouse, Roberts’ family carried a three-foot-tall framed photo of Roberts, as well as a framing of Roberts’ Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps uniform; Roberts was posthumously promoted to sergeant on May 8.
“She was one of the best artists I’ve ever seen,” said Chauncey Mikell, Roberts’ step-father. “We owe it to her to let her light shine and let it be known just how beautiful of a person she was. She was a model child, a model student. We don’t get to enjoy her anymore. She was taken away for no reason.”
No arrests have been made related to the killing of Roberts, part of a larger community issue in Allendale County of perpetrators of rural gun violence escaping capture. Many members of the community live in fear of retaliation, and as a result don’t give tips to local law enforcement, as previously reported by The People-Sentinel.
“We lost her on our watch in Fairfax,” said council member Phyllis Smart. Both Smart and Mayor Butch Sauls made clear the responsibility of local elected officials to fight for their constituents.
“My goal in all of this is not to just have this as a show but also have this be the beginning of fighting to make Allendale County a better place to live,” said Mayor Sauls. “The only way we can do that is to have a voice. It’s better to fail trying than to fail without trying.”
In a discussion with Hosey, community members spoke about how the legislature should be helping communities like Allendale.
Officer James Hall, who was shot in the right arm five times while responding after Roberts’ death, was also at the rally. Hall told Hosey that the recently-passed Constitutional Carry Law, which allows anyone 18 and older to open carry without a permit, will make the job of police more dangerous and challenging.
“My problem is — and so are a lot of other law enforcement officers — we have decriminalized, at the legislature, laws that are there to protect the communities, not just in Allendale but across the nation” said Hall, noting that he is a strong supporter of the Second Amendment. “I’m talking about not having to have a concealed weapons permit no more. Do you know how many cases alone just from October to me getting shot we’ve had from unlawful carry?”
Rep. Hosey responded, saying that he did not support the Constitutional Carry Law, and that he believes any response to gun violence must be led by the community itself.
“If you don’t have cooperation with law enforcement from the citizens, you just got a law on the books,” Hosey said. “In order to get what you want, you have to be aggressive.”
Mikell said Roberts’ killing should not have been the reason for the community to look for change, but said he hopes her death does not happen in vain.
“It’s ridiculous that a community and a family should have to be traumatized by such an event because she was clearly going places and doing things,” Mikell said of his step-daughter. “She didn’t really need much work. She was already who she needed to be.”
Elijah de Castro is a Report for America corps member who writes about rural communities like Allendale and Barnwell counties for The People-Sentinel. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep Elijah writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today.
