I think it is rediculous people act like the young man now serving a sentence for this crime was the only one at fault. He wasnt and its insane he didnt get off on self defense

Even thought we have no chrilden, My wife and I have in the pass done a lot of work with the young people here in Powhatan, in the high school, YMCA, our church, and the PYAA.

No more, we are done.  Parents, they are your problem.  Take a long look at the behaivor and values built in the public school system.

Finished

No, this has not changed my view of the county.  I have known for a while now that there were problems with the young people here which I have witnessed.  Parents need to be more aware of what is going on in their childrens lives.  I know many do not like to talk to their parents at certain ages but there are other ways to know what is going on by getting involved and simply observing.  It is unthinkable that young people not getting along can end with such violence but it has happened.  I am heartbroken at the death of Tahliek.  God bless his family and friends.

ITS TOO EASY TO SAY WHAT SHOULD HAVE DONE. I DON’T BELIEVE THIS WAS DONE IN THE HEAT OF THE MOMENT.IF THEY WANTED TO SHOOT THEY WOULD HAVE FOUND A WAY. CALLING THE POLICE IS NO GARENTEE
A INCIDENT HAPPENED IN THE SAME AREA, A 18 YR. OLD CALLED THE POLICE TO SAY SOMEONE WAS FOLLOWING HIM. POLICE MET HIM AT SHEETZ INSINUADED THAT HE WAS ON SOMTHING TO MAKE HIM PARINOID.

This was not a random act of crime. These young men knew each other.  Powhatan is a very safe place to live. I do not feel my safety has been affected what so ever.

I’m very saddened this has happened to our community. Justice will prevail and the punishment will be stern I can assure you. Tahliek should have never left the parking lot and should have dialed 911 as soon as those boys started harassing him. I doubt this would have happened if they would have stayed in public place.

I know I’ve learned a few lessons that I will be sure to pass along to my 14 yr old son.

it did change the way i feel, almost as if my saftey net has been taken away. if we allow it to, it will happen again. the best way to honor this young man’s life is to learn from his death. his life sounded like my own sons, fun-loving silly,spur of the moment, the accused sound like everything i pray my children aren’t. maybe if we tried to practice acceptance more than tolerance, acknowldegement of our differences instead of blind ignorance. all differences are not bad. if this were a hate crime, a drug related murder, or any variation, i wouldn’t hold my breath on the county to announce it. that would bring down powhatan’s precious property values.

I hate that people are bringing the racist card into everything that happens b/w a white person and a black person. I completely agree with you VTMOM about he didn’t deserve to be gunned down. NO he didn’t, but why turn this into another battle. Can no one just look at this as kids that didn’t get along, why b/c it just happened to be a black and a white that you have to play the racist card??? What if it was two whites, or two blacks would it be racist then??? STOP WITH THIS… it is crazy!!!! People like that is what keeps the racism alive, drop it… why don’t you try and live in today’s century then always pulling that card. It is simply two kids that never got along and something terrible happened out of it.

I am tired of hearing everyone jumping to conclusions, did you hear out of Ethan or Joey’s mouth that the only reason they did this act was because he was black??? NO you didn’t. So why make another issue out of something when it is hard enough dealing with this one????

I believe that the shooter deserves to pay for his crime, but if Stephanie didn’t not orginally know about it then why should she bear the pain??? I feel for both families and I pray for both, I just wish people would stop playing that racism card- u are the one that is racist.

It makes every one think, or at least it should

I do believe that the county has drastically changed after this incident. I graduated from Blessed Sacrament Hugeonut last year & felt so comfortable in Powhatan County. After what has happened I no longer feel the same safety & security as I once did. Things like this always happened in the city but I would have never thought that this could have happened in Powhatan County.
My brother went to school with both of the boys & was friends with Tahliek. This has drastically changed his life due to the mature nature of the situation. He now knows that there is no where safe for any one to live & its scary for him to think about his classmates killing one another.
The best thing the county can do at this time is to stay together for Tahlieks family because during this time it is the worst for his friends & family having to accept that he is no longer with us and this is not just a bad dream.
My thoughts & prayers are with both Tahliek & Courtneys Family. We can bounce back from this just as the Blacksburg community did after the events that occurred at Virginia Tech. We just need a little hope & a hole lot of faith.

Yes unfortunately this murder and shooting spree has shattered Powhatan’s innocence forever.  What a shame it is that there are still ignorant racist white kids out there.  This is the 21 century not the 20th!!  We need to try and rise above the racism of the last century and start treating everybody with fairness and respect.  This young black man did not deserve to be gunned down incold blood no matter what the reason may be.  Hopefully these dumb white kids will be prosecuted to the fullnest extent of the law!