Friends say Minneapolis homicide victim was active in youth sports program

Friends identified the victim of Wednesday’s night’s homicide in north Minneapolis as AJ “Drew” McGinley, who was shot while people gathered in a parking lot after a memorial.

"We call him ‘AJ the Shirt Man,’” community activist Lisa Clemons, who first met McGinley several years ago, said.

When Clemons, a former Minneapolis police officer, started a nonprofit — A Mother’s Love Initiative — to help families touched by crime, she needed help getting going to make shirts for volunteers.

"We didn’t have enough money to buy shirts, he told me, ‘Get me a logo that you want to use and your colors, and I’ll take of you,’" Clemons said.

After helping her out then, Clemons said her group is now supporting McGinley’s loved ones after he was fatally shot last night in Minneapolis at Plymouth and Knox avenues north.

"I think at some point here we’ve lost our values, and our moral compass as a people, some people might get offended by that, if you’re offended by it, fix it,” Clemons said.

Those close to McGinley, who was in his 30s, said he was at a gathering after a memorial service in a parking lot when the shots rang out and he was struck.

Minneapolis Police said there was some sort of argument in the parking lot before the shooting. However, it’s unclear who was involved in that dispute at this time.

At last check, there had been no arrests, according to MPD.

"It’s such a hard thing, it’s such a surprise," said Steve Floyd, a friend of McGinley.

Floyd, from the Agape Movement, said he’s known McGinley for years and was a kid in one of their sports programs.

Now, years later, he’s known as "Coach Drew" who helped bring back their youth sports program — Striving to Reach Education Excellence Through Sports — in Phelps Park in south Minneapolis, teaching baseball on Saturdays.

"I hadn’t been to sleep, it’s so stunning, I’m just frozen, we get a lot of this, we see a lot of this, some people impact your life even more than you realize until they are gone," Floyd said.

The Agape Movement also released the following statement:

"We are heartbroken to share the news that Andrew McGinley, a member of Agape Movement, has passed away due to community gun violence yet another black life lost to senseless violence.

"While we mourn the loss of a loving man, father, brother, son, uncle, friend, coach, and community member. We celebrate his life and hope that it serves as an example to young people to work hard to make their dreams come true, to be willing to explore and push the limits, and to selflessly serve a cause greater than themselves. Drew was working hard to transform street energy into community energy. We are deeply troubled that his life was taken in such a tragic way.

"Currently, upon the request of the family we are not taking interview requests and ask for privacy of the family to allow them time to grieve the loss of their loved one Andrew McGinley "Drew".

"If you would like to share your memories and condolences in the interim, you can simply email agapebstewart@gmail.com."