A Colorado MMA fighter who spent his career advocating against violence is accused of committing an egregious act of violence himself. Police suspect the reason behind it goes deeper than a random fit of rage.
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Commerce City Police say 46-year-old Lumumba Sayers pulled up to a pool party last weekend held by Malcolm Watson for his 5-year-old son’s birthday. Witnesses told police Sayers walked right up to Watson and shot him in the head at close range, in front of the party guests. Watson’s sister, who was not named, tells 9News she believed the shooting was in retaliation for the death of Sayers’ son one year ago.
On August 19, 2023, police said 23-year-old Lumumba Sayers Jr. was shot and killed between 28th and Welton Street in the Denver neighborhood of Five Points. He left behind a two-month-old son. Police arrested Tyrell Braxton in connection to the shooting but believed Watson had a connection to him. The affidavit detailing Watson’s killing referred to the Braxton as his “friend.”
Though, Watson’s sister denied her brother had anything to do with the killing.
“How is it a revenge killing if my brother isn’t the one who had anything to do with it?” Watson’s sister said to 9News.
Ironically, before the killing Sayers was known to the local communities within Aurora as an activist working toward creating a safer space for children. He founded the Heavy Hands Heavy Hearts gym allotting a space for kids to spend their energy elsewhere and not in an environment where they can become subject to violence. Additionally, his mentees founded a deescalation program called “Gloves Up, Guns Down, Get Your Heads Up In The Hood,” helping kids solve their conflicts with one another without pulling triggers.
“We have just got to get these kids who are out here making bad decisions to make better decisions and do different stuff with their life,” Sayers Sr. said to 9News in 2021.
Now, it’s alleged that he took matters of justice into his own hands, against all he was fighting for. Sayers is facing charges of first-degree murder and felony menacing. He’s currently being held in Adams County Detention Facility with a $1 million bond, court records show.
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