SEAT PLEASANT, MD -- The organizers of a youth summit for non-violence have released a heartbreaking video of an interview with a mentor appealing for participants to choose peace just days before he himself was gunned down.
Victim Lamont Adair,Jr. was a pro-prospect basketball player and father who spent the last weekend of his life serving as a volunteer mentor at the Hoops4Peace event at the Seat Pleasant Activities Center.
He was interviewed by WINDC's internet radio host Meosha Williams in a video intended to be used to promote future Hoops4Peace events.
Adair's words seemed to foreshadow his fate.
"It is rough out here," Adair told Williams. "So if you're in the gym versus being in the streets, you might miss a bullet that was meant for somebody else or for you. It's just better to be in the gym playing basketball or working out than being outside hanging outside with your friends."
Later Adair said youth must made a conscious decision about their path in life.
"You gotta make choices," Adair said. "If you want to be successful in life, or you want to be in jail right now -- or sad to say dead -- then go the wrong way. But if you want to do right and live a long time, make some money, have a family and have fun you need to follow the right path. It's choices."
Adair called for more men to step up as role models and mentors.
He said adults must demonstrate that they care for kids at all times.
He credited his coaches with motivating him and keeping him on the correct path in life, which included playing basketball for a small Illinois college.
The interview occurred Augusts 4 at the Seat Pleasant Activities Center, where Adair grew up being coached and mentored. NBA MVP Kevin Durant was among those he played with.
Adair was murdered in a targeted daylight shooting only four days later. He was walking alone between the gym and his home.
Police have not made any comments about a possible motive or suspects. There have been no arrests.
Adair was a devoted father to his 11-month-old son and had been working as a tow truck operator while pursuing is dream of professional basketball.
The former college player had been working out at the Activities Center in preparation for a trip to China to play in a league for pro-prospects.
Prince George's County police are appealing to the community for tips that might help them solve Adair's case.
