HAMPTON, Va. — People in Hampton are grieving the loss of 29-year-old Travell Giles. Police said Giles was shot and killed inside a Wingstop business on Coliseum Crossing around 8 p.m. Valentine's Day.
We're working to learn more information but police claim the suspect and Giles knew each other and had been in an argument at the time of the shooting.
"You know you look for stereotypical things," explained Dr. Rhonda Ross, chaplain for L.O.V.E. Fellowship. "That wasn't him. Let me clear that up."
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Dr. Ross knew Giles from the Lifter of Voices Ensemble.
"I'm the chaplain of the choir. I'm the mother of the choir. I have a mommy's heart and soul. Trey was like a son to me. He was so loving and giving and kind and not just to me," said Dr. Ross. "I've seen him in choir rehearsal pull people aside and just listen and talk to them and just be a listening ear or shoulder to lean on."
Together they sang songs about hope.
"Every time we sing a song our hope and our ambition is that the words out of our mouth and the meditation out of our heart will touch the souls and lives of men," said Dr. Ross.
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Now the group is suddenly without the well-liked tenor.
"So ultimately senseless" said Dr. Ross. "And I just wish for one minute that we pick up some thesauruses and some dictionaries so we can increase our vocabulary so when we run out of things to say we can find something else to say instead of speaking through violence. Because it's not the answer. We weren't supposed to be a place of devastation, hatred and murder. That's not what we're supposed to be about. We're supposed to be about unity. We are the United States of America. Where is the unity?"
She extends her heart to Giles' family and said his legacy in the community will live on.
"But I know one thing, he is going to want us to sing, I guess, our last song," said Dr. Ross. "And we're going to do that. We are going to let his name be honored with dignity and excellence because that's what he brought to our choir."
Police are investigating. They have not yet released suspect information. If you have any information about the case, contact Hampton Police.
