Anthony Heyward II, a 35-year-old Black man known affectionately as “A.J.,” was a beloved father and a longtime youth football coach in his North Charleston, South Carolina, community. As a mentor for the North Charleston Raiders, he was dedicated to shaping the lives of young men, having once been a player on the same team. Head coach Randy Washington remembered A.J.
as being like a son to him, someone who came back to help other kids just as he had been helped.
On the afternoon of October 15, 2022, Heyward’s life was cut short in a violent home invasion. Police were dispatched to a residence on Scarsdale Avenue around 4:15 p.m. for a report of a burglary in progress. When they arrived, several children waved them down from a second-floor landing, telling the officers that their father had been shot. Inside the home, police found Heyward on a sofa with gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The Charleston County Coroner's Office later confirmed his identity and that he died from his injuries.
The sudden and violent death of “Coach AJ” sent shockwaves through the community. The North Charleston Raiders announced that they would play the rest of their season in his honor, a testament to the impact he had on his players and fellow coaches. His death left his family and the many young people he mentored to grapple with an immeasurable loss.
The North Charleston Police Department launched an investigation into the fatal shooting. Less than a month later, on November 8, 2022, police arrested 18-year-old Haasawn Omarie Belin at a motel on Rivers Avenue. He was charged with murder, armed robbery with a deadly weapon, possession of a weapon during a violent crime, and four counts of kidnapping. Belin was taken into custody at the Al Cannon Detention Center. As of November 2022, the case was proceeding through the legal system.
