Chaos erupted as the man accused of Halifax’s latest murder was being escorted from the courtroom on Monday.
Carvel Clayton, 21, has been charged with second-degree murder in the shooting death of 21-year-old Shakur Jefferies, who was found dead near a suburban Halifax apartment building around 5 p.m. Saturday.
Clayton arrived to courtroom Monday morning with one eye nearly swollen shut. But it wasn’t until he was being escorted from the courtroom until things took a turn.
Someone in the courtroom yelled "get him" and lunged at the accused. A sheriff was knocked over in the melee and police yelled at others to calm down.
Tension then erupted between supporters of the victim and accused.
Clayton is known as the rapper "Certified". Earlier this year, he preached peace with a tribute victim to one of the shooting victims. The victim's friends are paying tribute to Jefferies.
“The sky was the limit,” said Jefferies’ friend Markese Logan. “The memories are constantly flashing back in my head. That’s how important a person he was to me.”
This is the 10th homicide in Halifax this year and six of the victims have been young black men. Anti-violence advocates say we've reached a crisis level.
“We don’t have any gangs. We just have a lot of hate,” said Quentrel Provo, founder of Stop the Violence.
Provo wants politicians to get involved.
“Long-term solutions that in five years you'll see the changes but they need to be in place yesterday,” said Provo.
Clayton's next court appearance is Dec. 2.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Kelly Linehan.
