The Marin City community is mourning the death of Javlin County, a 29-year-old father who was among the five victims of the Orinda Halloween shooting.
A GoFundMe page (gofundme.com/f/supporting-the-family-of-javlin-county) has been set up to support his family, raising more than $7,000 since it launched this past weekend.
“We’re all very saddened to hear of this tragic event,” said the Rev. Rondall Leggett, pastor of the First Missionary Baptist Church in Marin City. “I know that our community is definitely mourning and grieving his departure.”
County, a father of two, was a participant in a church program for young men, specifically young fathers, called the Marin City Fatherhood Council. The council, founded by Leggett, is a support group for young men to become strong male role models and to help guide their children toward academic success.
Leggett described County as a hardworking man, who “was open, sincere and wanting to learn more and do better.”
“Javlin was one that began to surface and rise as a leader in the group,” Leggett said. “Others looked up to him.”
Donnell Jones, the program facilitator, agreed.
Jones said members of the African-American community face several challenges, seeking equity in education, employment and opportunities in general.
“He was doing all the right things,” Jones said. “He often spoke of his children, saying how they were his motivation to be better, advance, better his life.”
Felecia Gaston, the founder and executive director of Performing Stars and the Phoenix Project, serving Marin City youth, said the community is reeling from the death of another young black man.
“In this past year, our community has been impacted by so many unexpected tragic deaths of young black males: car accidents, drownings and gun violence,” she said, noting that all but one was a father.
In June, Branson standout athlete Kwentyn Wiggins, 17, was killed in a car wreck. Days later, Tony Carnill Foster Jr., 34, was found dead at Stinson Beach. In September, Joshua Davis, a 28-year-old from Fairfield and a former Marin City resident was shot and killed in Richmond.
“Now, Javlin,” Gaston said. “It’s a lot. … The community is doing what families have always done historically: creating a society of helping others.”