Mentally Challenged Student Athlete Killed for His Beats by Dre Headphones
A beloved mentally challenged high school student athlete was killed for his headphones on Saturday.
Christian Massey was a 6'2'' 300 pound football, lacrosse, and basketball player from Marple Newtown High, located in a suburb of Philadelphia. The 21-year-old took six years to graduate from his high school because of disabilities, but most considered him a success story and inspiring for his trials and his ability to overcome.
According to DeadSpin, he had just begun a "mainstreaming program" that let him work alongside non-disabled peers in an effort to work together and learn to acclimate. He had just been accepted to a construction vocational program, and had plans beyond his large frame.
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"Christian was a great kid who was also a responsible kid, too, and let you know when or if he wasn't able to make practice," Marple Newtown football coach Ray Gionta said to Philly.com. "Athletically, he had some ability. He was a big kid who could move. Knowing Christian and what I know about the shooting, there probably wasn't any confrontation. He would avoid that at all costs. He didn't have a mean streak in his body. The kids absolutely loved Christian."
His untimely death occurred when he walking around his neighborhood. Massey had just bought $300 Beats By Dre headphones, partially by trading in an older pair, on Black Friday. Saturday he was casually wearing them when a robber asked him to fork them over. Massey refused, and turned to run away when the robber opened fire, shooting him five times. The shooter then fled without the headphones.
He was struck in the chest, but was alert enough to explain to the cops what happened. Then he passed away due to his injuries just half an hour later.
"Why did they have to shoot him?" Massey's grandmother said. "They didn't get what they shot him for so he was shot for nothing."
As Marple Newton grieves the loss of their beloved friend and athlete they will carry on with his motto in mind.
"Chris will always be a special part of our lives," Cecile Matthews, the head of Life Skills Program, said to Philly. "Chris would always say, 'Let's not worry, let's move on.' I'm going to try to carry those words with me, because that's the way Chris was."
