March, birthday party planned on anniversary of drive-by shooting of Nigel Brown

Jul. 6—ALBANY — There is a big birthday party planned for downtown Albany on Saturday, but the honoree, tragically, won't be in attendance.

Nigel Brown would have turned 10 on Saturday, but his life was cut short a month after his ninth birthday by a bullet fired during a drive-by shooting incident in August 2021.

On Friday, a march and birthday celebration is planned beginning at 9 a.m. Organizers with TEAMNigel request that children arrive at 8:30 a.m. near the Front Street entrance to the Albany Civic Center.

A balloon release at 9 a.m. will be followed by a march to Charles Sherrod Civil Rights Park at 300 S. Jackson St. for the birthday party that will feature a rally, back-to-school drive, food vendors and kid's activities.

Nigel's mother, Yolander Brown, recalled the occasion from 2021 earlier this week.

"I remember him spending his last birthday," she said.

Nigel loved Batman, and on July 9 of last year he received two action figures and a car to go with them, along with other presents.

On the night of Aug. 8, 2021, Nigel was asleep in bed at the Browns; residence on the 1500 block of West Gordon Avenue. At about 11 p.m. gunfire broke out from a car passing through the neighborhood.

When she heard the gunshots Brown checked on her children, and she found Nigel unresponsive in bed. He later was pronounced dead at the scene by the Dougherty County Coroner's office.

No arrests have been made in the case.

"July 9 is his birthday," Brown said. "It's hard. It's very hard. Every day, every moment. I'm giving all to my son, but it's hard.

"We're giving back to the community by doing this march. We're going to do it every year, for the kids."

The grieving mother said she hopes to spread the message that children in the community need more recreational activities to keep them out of trouble. If the shooter had something constructive to do on the night of the shooting or had grown up involved in activities, the outcome could have been different.

"I feel like the person who shot my son got in with the wrong group," she said. "We're asking the city to give our gyms back so there will be safe places for our children.

"I also want to bring justice, because we're still asking for justice."

Brown said she lives with the hope that someone with information, or the shooter, will come forward.

"I would say 'thank you for allowing me to be able to sleep. Thank you for giving me and my family justice,'" she said. "I (say to) the person involved in the shooting, we're not going to forget and we're not going to let this die down. We're not going to stop asking for justice."

Dougherty County District Attorney Greg Edwards also has not forgotten and said the search for the shooter continues.

"It's still under investigation, intense investigation," Edwards said. "We have some information. We have some leads. We have some persons of interest."

Dougherty County Concerned Citizens, which formed to address gun violence in the wake of the shooting in Uvalde, Texas, that left 19 children and 2 educators killed by a gunman, will be among the groups attending the march.

"It is our desire to support this family and support all victims of gun violence," group founder Tim Wesselman said. "It's important to who we are, and it's important to what we do."