‘We will not rest’: Hundreds gather at vigil for boxer Ed Brown

Hundreds of people gathered at the Garfield Park fieldhouse Tuesday night in honor of slain Chicago boxer Ed “Bad Boy” Brown, who was fatally shot near his home on the West Side early Saturday.

Assembled on the lawn outside the fieldhouse’s “golden dome,” Brown’s family, teammates and coaches, along with crisis responders and clergy members, celebrated Brown’s memory and called for justice for his shooter.

Brown, 25, was sitting in a parked vehicle with a 19-year-old woman about 1:10 a.m. Saturday in the 3200 block of West Warren Boulevard when a silver vehicle pulled up and someone inside shot at them, Chicago Police said.

Brown, who was 20-0 in his career, was shot in the head, and the woman was shot in the left leg. Both were taken to Mount Sinai Hospital. Authorities said the woman’s condition was good.

His co-manager, Mike Cericola, previously said Brown was returning home from the gym when the shooting occurred.

According to his managers, Brown served time in jail and had been shot at least once before.

To begin the vigil, the Rev. Saeed Richardson, of Greater Bethesda Missionary Baptist Church, led a prayer. He said reaction to Brown’s death has spurred a range of emotions.

“It’s a fire that calls on us to not just honor him through our tears, but also to honor and remember him through our rage. Through our rage and our frustration,” Richardson said. “We will not rest compliant. We will not rest complacent with letting things like this happen.”

Before the vigil began, George Hernandez, Brown’s longtime trainer, oversaw several young men as they trained in the gym, which had served as a second home to Brown for years.

The rumble of a speedbag echoed off the gym walls as Hernandez, smoking a cigar, sat on a bench at the southeast corner of the gym near an open door. Four young men in the ring practiced landing body blows under Brown’s vest, shoes and shorts, which hung from the ceiling.

Among those training Tuesday evening was DeShawn “Hurricane” Boyd, who had known Brown for 10 years and thought of him as a brother. Boyd said Brown was a constant source of motivation.

“When nobody believed in me, he always believed in me,” Boyd said.

Brown was his first sparring partner. Boyd said he last saw Brown only a few hours before he was killed.

Also taking a turn in the ring was 3-year-old Kayla Brown, Ed’s daughter, who donned pink boxing gloves.

According to his managers, Brown served time in jail and had been shot at least once before.

Community activist and crisis responder Andrew Holmes told the assembled media that a $3,000 reward was being offered for any information that would lead to the arrest of Brown’s killer, which Hernandez said he was greatly looking forward to.

“I can’t wait till the day we get news that they apprehended whomever you are,” Hernandez said. “Because killing people at a distance with a fully automatic weapon is a cowardly act. That’s not the way to handle your business.”

The vigil ended with a prayer that was preceded by a 20-second-long moment of silence, one second for each of Brown’s 20 victories.