On Saturday November 23, the St. Louis hockey community experienced a devastating blow. According to Fox 2 Now, 16 year old CBC student Colin Brown was on his way home from his hockey game at the Affton hockey rink when he was hit by a stray bullet on Interstate 55. Brown was in critical condition until November 27th, and finally passed away the day before Thanksgiving. The bullet that struck Brown was a stray bullet, and the police have yet to arrest the person responsible, but are currently following up on new leads.
Upon Colin’s death, his family decided to donate his organs, which ended up saving four peoples lives.
“This donation is an example of the type of young man Colin was and the kind of family he grew up in. Their steadfast commitment to serve those around them – should inspire us all,” stated Mitch McCoy, the spokesperson for the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department
Less than two weeks after Brown’s death his hockey team, the Affton Americans, had their first game without him. Bob Jakubeck, the Affton Americans coach said that Colin “always said yes sir, no sir and thank you. He was so respectful, just the salt of the earth”.
Colin’s death has been incredibly impactful. Many have taken to social media to mourn the death of Brown, hundreds of high schoolers posting the horrible news on their Snapchat stories while others have made sentimental posts on instagram relating to his death. This tragic event has reached even farther than solely high school students in the St. Louis area, it has even reached the NHL. According to nhl.com, the St. Louis Blues honored Colin by wearing pins that read “72 STRONG”, as well 72 STRONG t-shirts. They left a hockey stick outside of their locker room to honor him, and had a 50/50 raffle to help console the Brown family.
Furthermore, a 25,000 dollar reward is being offered to anyone who has information on the person responsible for Colin’s death. Karl Lund, a man who lives in the same area as the Brown family, has added an extra 10,000 dollars to the reward for anyone who helps lead to the arrest of the man who killed Brown, despite not even knowing the Brown family personally.
When Lund was asked about why he decided to generously donate 10,000 dollars to the reward money, he said that “I have kids. We drove back-and-forth to sports. I couldn’t imagine something like this happening on the way home or anywhere else to anybody. It’s a nightmare”.
Colin’s death has left a gigantic hole in many hearts, and has caused great change in the hockey community, and the minds of high school students around Colin’s age.
Declan Derrosett, a freshman hockey player at Westminster who knew Brown, stated that Colin’s death “was definitely a tragedy and from now on everyone who plays hockey does it for him” he went on to say that “I think it definitely changed my mindset on how I view things in life, my season ended, but his life ended”.
Despite the horrible disaster, some good has resulted from it. It is a reminder that life is fleeting. Every moment with your friends, your family, and even the people in your school you rarely talk to, is important and impactful. Colin’s death has been incredibly impactful in the hockey community, and will continue to affect how the game is played.
