Murray was a popular and skillful trumpeter and educator. His death has left the New Orleans music community devastated. "Some kids won't get to experience what he was offering."
Editor's note: This article was originally published on February 7, 2022. It has since been updated.
Trigger Warning: This story mentions gun violence that may be disturbing to readers.
When Brian Murray's daughter told him that she had gotten into a fight with her partner, Murray went over, pick her up along with her 1-year-old son, Edmond Ramee Jr., and took them to his place. On January 31, 2022, Murray, a well-known Louisiana trumpet player, brought them to his home in the Little Woods section of New Orleans East from their home in Gretna, according to PEOPLE.
The same day, around 3:25 pm, Edmond Ramee Sr. turned up at Murray's home, where he allegedly kicked in the glass of a screen door. He then reached in, grabbed his son who was sitting nearby, and walked away.
With his son in his arms, Edmond allegedly returned to the house with a gun and began shooting, hitting Murray, an affidavit states. An unnamed witness who was hiding in the closet during the attack reportedly called 911 after they managed to flee through a window. The suspect initially fled the scene after committing the crime but reportedly turned himself in later that day. He is yet to be charged or enter a plea.
Initially, an amber alert was issued for the child. “The one-year-old is in the custody of what we now have been able to identify as a murderer. So yes, we absolutely believe that the one-year-old is in danger. So, we’re trying to do our best to locate that child,” said Superintendent Shaun Ferguson, according to Fox8 Live.
When the suspect turned himself in, he brought the child along, who is now in safe custody, added 4WWL.
News of Murray's death has left the New Orleans music community devastated. Murray was a popular and skillful trumpeter who played in clubs around New Orleans. He also taught at Jefferson Parish Public Schools and Ellis Marsalis School of Music, according to his website.
Dr. Daryl Dickerson, Murray's friend and colleague at Ellis Marsalis School of Music said that not only was Murray talented, he was also an amazing educator. "He was a great guy and great with kids," he says. "He could relate with kids."
Dickerson says Murray also, through his Jerome Murray Instrumental Music Foundation, found instruments for kids in need. "He would be the guy who would get instruments from people and call me and say, do you need a trumpet, or a flute," he says. "We would turn around and give it to a student. It was a pipeline of keeping the music going in New Orleans."
"He was a kind-hearted person and he would do whatever you asked him to do," adds Dickerson. "That is what hurts the most. Some kids won't get to experience what he was offering. He was the kind of person, his knowledge, his wisdom, his experience, he would give it all to you so you would understand what is going on."
"It is going to be a great loss to his students," he says. "This is something you can't replicate what he brought to the table and the type of person he was."
Dickinson then added that he is still trying to come to terms with the death of his beloved friend.
"I am still trying to figure out why this guy," he says. "The innocent always seem to get hurt the most. He was not a confrontational type of person. I think America has to take a look in the mirror and ask itself about the guns we have on the streets and how we are getting younger and younger people using these guns and ruining people's lives. We lost a bright educator. To lose someone like this who gave so much. It hurts. We just lost one of the captains of the ship."
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Cover Image Source: YouTube | WWLTV (Tremendous loss: Beloved musician, teacher shot to death mourned)
