FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Love ones consoled each other as they remembered 41-year-old Danny Colon at a vigil Thursday night outside of the Fort Lauderdale Police Department.
Colon was one of two people killed when Jamal Jahmarley Meyers, 34, of Oakland Park opened fire on a county bus as the driver was on a route westbound on West Broward Boulevard. That bus driver was able to make it to the Fort Lauderdale police station.
“When it happened honestly, I didn’t think it was real,” said Destiney Colon, the victim’s daughter.
She said her father was “very protective, very loving, he loves his family, his kids and all his friends.”
Police said Meyers fired his gun 21 times at passengers trapped inside.
Gregory Campbell Jr., 33, also died, while two other passengers on the bus were injured.
Colon leaves behind two children and three grandchildren.
Family said he was getting his life together and didn’t deserve to be taken away so soon.
“He wasn’t a violent person at all, so for this to happen to him,” Destiney said.
It is still not clear what prompted the shooting or who the intended target was but Meyers has an extensive criminal history and was on probation when the shooting happened.
He had been arrested more than 20 times in Broward County with the state even flagging him as a habitual offender back in 2019.
“Honestly, I just want the death penalty for him because it’s no way he shouldn’t even be walking around the street with so many charges like that so I want the maximum sentence,” Destiney said.
The family has set up a GoFundMe page to help with funeral expenses. Find the information here.
Colon’s funeral is Saturday, March 26 at 1 p.m. at the James T. Boyd Funeral Home, 2324 Sistrunk Blvd., Fort Lauderdale, according to his family.