BY MICHELLE KEY
AND HANNAH LESTER
OPELIKA —
The sounds of a mother’s unbearable grief filled Courthouse Square Monday night during a candlelight prayer vigil held for Marsiah Emmanuel Collins — the 19-year-old from Opelika that was killed in Saturday night’s shooting in Dadeville. Collins graduated from Opelika High School last year.
Marsiah’s mother, Shirley “Shunte” Jones, and his father, Martin Collins Jr., spoke during the event.
“I never thought I would have to bury my child,“ Jones said. “I never thought this would happen to me.”
She spoke of how he always told her he loved her when he would leave to go somewhere.
“He would say, ‘Love you Mom. See you later.’”
On Saturday, as Marsiah left for the party, Jones said that he told her, “Love you Mom, I’m gone.” Jones broke down as she repeated those words.
“My baby’s gone. He’s gone.”
The Rev. Clifford Jones from Greater Peace Baptist Church addressed the community.
“What has happened to us, that we have allowed these kinds of tragedies to take place in our community?” he asked. “I really think it is a heart issue — a matter of love. I think it really comes down to an individual not knowing how much God really loves them. If that person knew how much God loves them, he would not have brought such carnage upon the Dadeville community.”
He also spoke of hope.
“Hope can cause us to look beyond ourselves,” Clifford said. “Hope can cause us to reach beyond ourselves and reach out and help those who are hurting. Hope can bring this tragedy to God’s love for mankind.”
The Boys and Girls Club of East Alabama helped sponsor the vigil.
“The Boys and Girls Club was one of many players at the table that cares about kids and community that led the effort to bring the community together,” said Richard Curry, president and CEO of the club. “I think there’s a lot of folks here tonight that maybe don’t have the right words to say and they’re looking for an actionable step and I think there’s some kids here tonight that just need to know, ‘Hey, the world does love me.’”
Curry said that the organization’s goal now is just to find out how it can help support the families of the victims.
Dr. Farrell Seymore, superintendent of Opelika City Schools issued a statement regarding the death of Marsiah.
“We join the city of Dadeville and surrounding communities in sending our thoughts and prayers to the families that are grieving and to all of those who are recovering from the tragic events on April 15,” Seymore said. “We are saddened to learn of the death of Marsiah Collins, a 2022 Opelika High School graduate. Many of our students know those who were injured or killed, so additional counselors were onsite this morning at Opelika High School. We will continue to provide support for our students and staff who have been affected by this tragedy.”
Sabrina Hansen, also a member of the OHS Class of 2022, spoke kindly of Marsiah.
“We became friends in kindergarten,” Hansen said. “We weren’t super close after elementary school, but he was always super kind. He ran track, I ran track. He was friends with everybody.”
Two other students from OHS were injured in the shooting and are recovering in the hospital.
