Father of slain teenager makes plea for help

Courtesy: Twitter/@ColumbiaPDSC

Courtesy: Twitter/@ColumbiaPDSC

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WOLO) – The father of a 15-year-old teen who was shot and killed earlier this month is making a heartfelt plea to the public to assist the Columbia Police Department with the case.

The body of Jalen Qadir Islam was found in a crashed stolen vehicle in the 2100 block of Slighs Avenue around 11:30 p.m. on August 12.

Columbia Police Chief Skip Holbrook said the victim’s father, Qadir Abdul Islam says that his son was close to his siblings and parents, adding that the shooting suspect has caused a tremendous amount of grief to the family. “Whoever did this put a really big hurt and a void in our hearts,” he says.

Islam says, “He’s my son and he was a very special individual. He had his ups and downs but he didn’t deserve to be taken at such a young age. I never thought that he would die this way. He’s supposed to bury me. I’ve cried every day. I need some understanding – why did this happen? I wish I had the answers. I don’t want anyone’s child to die because of gun violence. I know it was a cowardly act. If they did that, why don’t they allow their presence to be known? And now, they want to run and hide. If you were his friend and knew about what happened, and you’re not coming forward, that’s worse.”

Citizens with information about the incident are encouraged to contact CRIMESTOPPERS in any of the following ways:

CALL toll-free, 888-CRIME-SC.

LOG onto: www.midlandscrimestoppers.com, and click on the red “Submit a tip” tab.

DOWNLOAD the new P3 Tips App for Apple or Android devices.