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While we all mourn the deaths of children in Newtown, Connecticut, some of our own are being sliced down, right here locally. Zavier Stringfellow was murdered this past Friday night by another local man. Stringfellow was a football star at Battlefield High school and graduated in 2011. He was a sophomore at Ferrum College where he played football for the Ferrum Panthers.
Stringfellow was found dead in his van in Fairfax County. The cause of death was determined to be from stabbing. Johnny E. Bonilla of Gainesville has been charged with his murder. The two who did not know each other were supposed to meet Friday night. The meeting ended in a struggle and the death of Stringfellow. The reason for meeting has not been released.
Things like this aren’t supposed to happen to our kids. This young man had his life ahead of him.
He was popular and a leader amongst his peers. How do we ever understand something like this?
While the murder weapon wasn’t specified, it obviously wasn’t a gun. We probably need to remember that guns are not the only “tools” that can harm our children. We assume that football players are big guys who can take care of themselves, or can they? This young man was a defensive lineman. Those don’t come in welter-weight sizes.
I close out by wondering if any of us are safe. Just when we thought we had it all figured out.
