‘He was a very decent young man’: Friends push back against blame after Christmas Eve killing
Friends and loved ones are struggling to make sense of the killing of a 25-year-old father who was shot dead on Christmas Eve, just hours after purchasing gifts for his children.
Those who knew Christopher Mott say the violence that ended his life does not reflect the man they loved.
“He was a good and very decent young man,” Crystal Arias wrote in a social media post, describing Mott as someone she knew like family. He was her son’s best friend and a close friend of Mott’s immediate family.
Mott, a mechanic, was found inside his vehicle with gunshot wounds near the intersection of Graham Drive and Lime Street shortly after 7 pm last Wednesday. Police are continuing investigations into the shooting.
“We are still in shock,” Arias said. “It’s so terrible that someone would do this to him.”
As questions and speculation circulated online, friends were quick to defend Mott’s character.
Chris Cox questioned the narrative forming around the killing, asking: “What type of life he lived before he bought his kids Christmas gifts?”–a comment many saw as unfair and painful.
Arias pushed back.
“He was a very decent and respectful young man,” she said. “It was just a senseless murder. That’s all.”
She added, “He was not a street kid. If you really knew him, you knew him. But you can still be a good person, and someone will still hate you. They didn’t have to kill him.”
Community members say the loss reflects a wider national wound.
Reverend Izetta Bain described the killing as part of a troubling pattern, saying it is “sad and mind-boggling” how frequently young men are dying, whether by violence or sudden tragedy.
“This calls for national weeping,” she said, urging prayer and reflection amid what she described as a growing crisis.
Others voiced frustration over crime and enforcement.
Shakara Pinder said many criminals appear unafraid of consequences. “The laws are slack where they can kill and be out the next day,” she wrote, calling for stronger action to stem the bloodshed.
