ROANOKE, Va. – UPDATE
Family members identified the man who was killed in a shooting in Roanoke on Thursday night.
27-year-old Malik Sims was pronounced dead at the scene at the intersection of Garden City Boulevard and Riverland Road near Dollar General.
A homicide investigation is underway. Roanoke police haven’t made any arrests.
TaQuan Austin is Sims’ cousin and said he made the best of a tough hand.
“The way he carried himself, he carried himself like a young man that grew up in a good home would carry themselves, he was raised in the church,” Austin said.
Sims’ adopted father, said he enlisted in the Army and attended boot camp before a medical discharge shortly after. He also said Sims kept his life straight and tried to be a problem solver, not a problem creator.
Austin said faith played a central role in Sims’ life and was he was always a helper to those young and old.
“He would just like call me, I would post something on Facebook and he would say are you alright, do you need me to come by there, more like he was the big cousin than I am,” Sims said.
The death was the city’s second in two days, following a shooting at a Roanoke McDonald’s the day prior. Police have not arrested anyone for the killing, but Austin said they’re working to catch his killer.
“You know instead of being angry about the situation, learn something form it, like learn your surroundings, Malik wouldn’t want anyone to go out and do something crazy,” Austin said.
There’s an outpouring of pain on social media as more people continue to learn the news. Austin said while they don’t know why, they do know one thing.
“At the end of the day God don’t make no mistakes, every thing is planned out, no matter how you have to leave this earth, but I feel like he’s in a better place, he’s with God,” Austin said.
Family members shared these photos of Sims:
Malik Sims
ORIGINAL STORY
A shooting in southeast Roanoke on Thursday night left one man dead.
It happened at the intersection of Garden City Boulevard and Riverland Road near Dollar General just before 8 p.m.
Responding officers found a man just off the road and Roanoke Fire-EMS pronounced him dead at the scene, according to the Roanoke City Police Department.
Police are investigating this incident as a homicide.
No arrests have been made, according to Roanoke police.
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call 540-344-8500. You can also text 274637, beginning the text with “RoanokePD” to ensure it’s properly sent. Both calls and texts can remain anonymous.