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Members of an entertainment-based HIV advocacy and education organization called Impulse Group DC have announced they will hold a vigil at noon on Saturday, June 3, for a 26-year-old gay man who was found murdered in his Prince George’s County apartment on May 30.

In a statement released on Friday, Impulse Group DC spokesperson Devin Barrington-Ward said immediately following the vigil members of the group, including long-time friends of the victim, Matthew Mickens-Murrey, plan to canvass the neighborhood surrounding the apartment building where Mickens-Murrey lived and where his body was found to seek out people who might know something about the circumstances that led to the murder.

Prince George’s Police announced earlier this week that patrol officers arrived at Mickens-Murrey’s apartment on the 5400 block of Newton Street in the unincorporated area of Hyattsville, Md., about 2:40 p.m. on May 30 in response to a call asking that they check on Mickens-Murrey’s welfare.

When they arrived the officers discovered that Mickens-Murrey had been stabbed to death, the police statement says. Police have declined to say whether there were signs of a forced entry into the apartment or whether it appeared that Mickens-Murrey invited his assailant into his residence.

The statement issued by Impulse Group DC says the vigil will be held from 12-1:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 3, at the DENIM Community Center at 8240 Professional Place, Suite 207B, in Landover, Md. The DENIM Center is operated by the D.C.-based AIDS and community health services organization Us Helping Us, which provides services to black gay men among other groups.

“So many of us are still shocked and hurting from the death of our friend and fellow community member Matt Murrey,” said Terrence Ford, director of marketing for Impulse Group DC and a longtime friend of Mickens-Murrey.

“He was always a joy to be around and learning that he was murdered in such a brutal manner is bringing so many of us a tremendous amount of grief and pain,” Ford said in the group’s statement.

Friends have said Mickens-Murrey attended some of the entertainment events associated with D.C.’s Black Pride, an LGBT community celebration and conference held each year during the Memorial Day weekend.



“Impulse DC also plans to canvass the bars and clubs in D.C. that Matt was known to frequent in the hopes that members of the close-knit black LGBTQ community might have information to share that could lead to the capture of the killer who is still at large,” the statement says.

“So many questions surrounding Matt’s murder remain unanswered and it is vital that we get to the bottom of this because in the meantime we have a murderer on the loose who could very well be another LGBTQ community member or an outsider specifically targeting black gay men,” said Barrington-Ward, who serves as president of Impulse Group DC.

He said Mickens-Murrey, who was known to his friends as Matt Murrey, regularly attended Impulse DC events and had participated in the organization’s programs. According to Barrington-Ward, Impulse DC leaders have spoken to P.G. County police homicide detectives investigating the case “and have made it clear that Matt’s family, friends and community members want fairness, accountability, and justice in this case.”

Barrington-Ward added, “The safety of our community members hinges on the apprehension of the individual responsible for this brutal crime.”

A police spokesperson told the Blade on Thursday that officials do not believe the killing was motivated by anti-gay bias at this point in the investigation.