Family, friends and community members are mourning the death of 2017 Montgomery Blair High School graduate and varsity basketball player Malik Lee, 25, of Takoma Park, who died Sunday night after he was stabbed in the Adams Morgan neighborhood of Washington, D.C.
“We really miss Malik. I can’t explain how hurt I feel, like a part of me is gone,” Donald Lee, one of his two older brothers, said Wednesday.
Althea Lee, Malik’s mother, said she and her two eldest sons are looking for answers about what happened and justice for Malik.
“Somebody did something very wicked, brutal. They crucified my son and I need a big closure. I want to see that person in court,” she said.
Lee died in a local hospital after he was stabbed by an unknown person in an alley in the 1700 block of Columbia Road NW, according to a Monday statement from the Metropolitan Police Department. Police said at approximately 5:31 p.m. officers responded to a report of a stabbing in an alley at the rear of the Admo Heights Apartments complex.
Arriving officers found Lee conscious and breathing but suffering from multiple stab wounds, according to the statement. He was then transported to a local hospital by the District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Services where he died after “lifesaving efforts failed,” the statement said.
The Metropolitan Police Department is investigating Lee’s death and no further updates have been provided since Monday.
Gathered with friends and family at Lee’s family home in Takoma Park on Wednesday night, Donald described his brother as a hard worker who loved to be around kids. Lee’s friends remembered him as a funny, understanding and genuine person who loved basketball and making music.
Kaleb Tola, a friend of Lee’s since middle school, said Lee was “the type of guy that would show up to your house and check up on us” and would “bring confidence out of people.”
“He definitely did that for me and that is one of things I remember most about him,” Tola said, recalling how Lee had convinced him “one or two times” to add a verse to a song he was working on.
Lee had worked for Kids After Hours (KAH), a Rockville-based organization that offers afterschool and summer programming for children.
Kids After Hours owner Bob Sickels said Lee had worked for KAH for about five years and primarily spent his time working at Highland View Elementary School in Silver Spring.
“We absolutely loved him. He was the nicest, sweetest guy,” Sickels said. “He was super fun to have with the kids. … I can’t imagine how he could be anywhere that somebody would feel the need to kill him.”
Days after his death, Lee’s older brother Damian Lee, 45, created a GoFundMe fundraiser to help support their family as they grieve and make funeral arrangements. The fundraiser, which was launched Tuesday, has raised more than $13,400 of its $20,000 goal from more than 155 donations as of Friday morning.
Lee’s friend, Bana Petros, told MoCo360 Wednesday night that seeing the support from the community “means the world” to him.
“His reach was more than just our core friend group. That’s just how much of an impact he had on anybody who got to experience any little moment of him,” Petros said. “It just means the world to know that the community is there and see him as the light that he was.”
While the outpouring of support has been comforting, Althea Lee said the financial support still could not bring her son back or ease the pain of losing him.
Althea, who moved to U.S. from Jamaica in 1987, said she had been looking forward to spending her upcoming birthday and Christmas with Lee, her youngest son.
“I wish he was here so I could make him seafood pasta — his favorite dish,” she said.
District police are asking anyone with information about the incident to call 202-727-9099 or text tips to the department’s tip line at 50411. According to Monday’s statement, the department offers rewards up to $25,000 to anyone who provides information that may lead to the arrest and conviction of a person or people responsible for the crime.
