The soul has been ripped from an anti violence organization slain high school basketball player Damarion Johnson was a part of after his slaying last week on the West Side, which also claimed the life of Uber driver Jassen Cho.
McKinley Nelson, founder of Project sWish, told the Chicago Sun-Times Damarion was the second teenage member in six months it’s lost to gun violence, and it’s been tough for the program.
“It’s painful for sure,” Nelson said. “I think anyone could imagine what we’re feeling on this side.”
Meanwhile, loved ones mourned and a $10,000 reward was being offered for information leading to an arrest in the attack Thursday night when someone in an SUV fired on the two, who were driving in the 200 block of North Homan Avenue in the Garfield Park neighborhood.
Armani Floyd, 14, was also part of the group and was fatally shot during a teen takeover last November.
“Armani was a kid, an innocent kid in that situation, and with [Johnson] it feels a little different because he was in a place of trying to get his family out of their current situation,” Nelson said.
Johnson wanted to make enough money through basketball to move them somewhere safer than where they live.
“He was trying to use the game of basketball to change [his family’s] lives, and it’s all he really wanted to do,” Nelson said. “He was really coming around as a young man, and I felt like he was robbed of seeing his changes come to fruition.”
Johnson spoke to members of the program daily and went on spring break trips and college tours. He was a captain for his basketball team at Christ the King Jesuit College Prep in Austin and was about to sign to play at a junior college in Wisconsin.
Nelson described his relationship with Johnson as “one you’d have with a little brother.”
“From his transportation to and from school every day to the [graduation] night outfit he was planning to wear … the things that we did for DJ were far beyond just a kid in the program,” Nelson said.
“The kid was just a basketball player. He wasn’t a gangbanger. You know, I know that he didn’t come from the best neighborhood, and oftentimes kids are associated with the neighborhood that they grew up in, but Damarion was focused on making his situation better as far as his lifestyle goes, and using the game of basketball to change his life,” Nelson said.
Despite the losses the program has suffered over the last six months, Nelson said he still believes in the importance of moving forward with Project sWish’s mission to help youth and young adults citywide.
“It’s hard for us to get up and continue to stay motivated when we feel like the soul of this organization was ripped out of us,” Nelson said.
Project sWish is a basketball-centered citywide organization that provides a supportive space for youth and young adults. Nelson began the Project sWish “after the untimely death of close friends whom he met through his love of basketball as a result of Chicago’s gun violence,” according to its website.
‘He had a zest for life’
In the days since the shooting, friends of Jassen Cho have gathered together to laugh, cry and share memories.
Victoria Dakessian first became friends with Cho over two decades ago, and the two began meeting regularly again after bumping into each other while in Argentina a couple of years ago.
“He had a zest for life,” Dakessian, 38, said. “He brought fun and warmth to everything he did and everywhere he went.”
Cho and Dakessian often went on lunch trips or to try out a restaurant they found interesting in the Lake View area. The last time Dakessian saw Cho was when the two celebrated their birthdays together with friends last month.
“At least it was a happy memory,” Dakessian said of the last time she saw him.
The last few days have been agonizing for Dakessian, but she credited Cho with introducing her to friends she can now mourn with.
“Because of him, I’m able to grieve together with people who also knew him, so we can share together and move through this process as one,” Dakessian said.
Reward
The $10,000 reward is being offered by Cook County Crime Stoppers.
“This was a senseless act of violence that took the lives of two individuals and devastated their families,” said Paul Rutherford, executive director of Cook County Crime Stoppers, in a statement. “Someone in the community knows who is responsible. We urge anyone with information, no matter how small it may seem, to come forward anonymously.
“Your tip could help bring justice to the victims and help prevent additional violence in our neighborhoods.”
Anonymous tips can be submitted by calling the Crime Stoppers tip line at 800-535- 7867 or online at CPDTIP.com.