Sandy MaloneClinton, MD – A 30-year-old professional boxer was murdered in what police believe was a road rage attack in front of his children on Christmas Eve.
The incident occurred at about 4:40 p.m. on Dec. 24 as Danny Kelly Jr. was driving his girlfriend and three young daughters to a holiday dinner, according to a press release from the Prince George’s County Police Department (PGPD).
Police said that the group had just finished a Christmas shopping and Kelly was driving northbound on St. Barnabas Road with his girlfriend beside him and his three little girls in the backseat when another vehicle pulled up next to his SUV, WUSA reported.
Someone inside the other vehicle opened fire on Kelly’s SUV and shot the boxer multiple times, according to the police department’s press release.
Kelly was unconscious in the driver’s seat when police arrived on the scene, WUSA reported.
He was later pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.
Nobody else in the car was physically harmed in the attack, WUSA reported.
The preliminary investigation led police to believe that the shooting may have been a road rage incident, according to the press release.
Detectives have been working to identify a suspect in the shooting, FOX News reported.
“This is an absolutely heartbreaking loss for Mr. Kelly’s family and friends. He is not home with his loved ones today on Christmas who are now mourning his loss instead of celebrating the holiday,” PGPD Acting Major David Blazer the head of the Major Crimes Division, said in a statement.
Police are asking for help from the community to identify Kelly’s killer, WUSA reported.
“St. Barnabas Road is a heavily traveled roadway,” Maj. Blazer said. “If any other drivers saw anything there on Christmas Eve or may have information that could help, please call us. You can stay anonymous. We are committed to providing answers to his family.”
Police are offering a reward of $25,000 for information leading to the arrest and indictment of the gunman, FOX News reported.
Although he hadn’t fought since 2019, Kelly remained well-known in the boxing community, WUSA reported.
He had a record of 10-3-1 on the professional circuit, including nine knockouts, according to BoxRec. https://boxrec.com/en/proboxer/622343
Danny Kelly Jr., a professional boxer who last fought in 2019, was shot and killed on Christmas Eve in what Maryland authorities are investigating as a possible road rage incident. pic.twitter.com/Wfz5BwynNo
— killmoenews (@Killmoenews1) December 26, 2021
“We traveled all over the place watching him boxing,” Kelly’s godmother, Bernadine Walker, told WUSA. “Only for him to knock his opponent out in thirty seconds… He just had that trigger in him. He had that drive to be a good boxer.”
Kelly competed in the Barclay Center and at Maryland Live!
Walker said her godson was also a family man, WUSA reported.
“He was a wonderful dad,” she said. “He loved his babies. He loved his children.”
Tragic story || Danny Kelly Jr. was a father, a role model & a pro boxer. He was shot and killed in a possible road rage incident #ChristmasEve in Temple Hills. His 3 kids, aged 4, 7, and 9, were in the car.
We spoke with his grandmother, his godmother, and his cousin. @wusa9 pic.twitter.com/SEhC3z78un
— Evan Koslof (@ekoslof) December 26, 2021
"They lost their father, and nobody knows why" || Family expresses heartbreak after Danny Kelly Jr., a pro #boxer was shot and killed while driving with family on #ChristmasEve. @wusa9 pic.twitter.com/GdZc80YIFD
— Evan Koslof (@ekoslof) December 26, 2021
Daryl Brown, Kelly’s first coach boxing coach and long-time mentor, said he took Kelly under his wing when he was a teen, WUSA reported.
“In spite of the boxing — outside of boxing — I loved him,” Brown said. “Outside of it… if he were to stop right now and say I don’t want to do this anymore, he still would have been my guy.”
Holly Matkin
