Reginald Killings

Reginald Killings was a beloved older brother and a member of a large, close-knit family passionate about football. The 30-year-old African-American man grew up in South Florida with six brothers, and together they spent their days playing in the sandlots of Miami, all sharing a dream of making it to the professional leagues. His father, Fred Killings Sr., was a Hall of Fame running back at Howard University and coached his sons in Pop Warner football. Reginald, along with his older brother Fred Jr., were sports heroes and idols to their younger siblings, especially D.J. Killings, who would later pursue a career in the NFL. Reginald and Fred taught their younger brothers much about the game. His family remembered him as one of the people who motivated D.J., keeping his drive going and encouraging him to stay out of trouble as he began his college football career.

The morning of Sunday, February 8, 2015, turned tragic in what became a particularly bloody day for the city of Miami. At around 10 a.m., Reginald was standing in the yard outside his home in the 5600 block of NW 4th Avenue when gunfire erupted. He was shot multiple times. In a desperate attempt to find safety, Reginald tried to run back inside his house but collapsed at the front door from his injuries. The attack was one of four separate shootings that occurred in Miami within just a few hours that day, leaving another man dead and two others wounded, including a 14-year-old boy.

Miami Police Department officers responded to the scene. Investigators began working the case, but the motive for the shooting was not immediately clear. A police spokesperson stated they had no clue why Reginald was gunned down, whether he was involved in anything, or if it was a random act of violence. In the immediate aftermath, no suspects were identified, and police appealed to the public for help, asking anyone with information to come forward. The shooting at Reginald's home was part of a wave of gun violence that shook the community.

The investigation took a dramatic turn just over a week later. On February 17, 2015, police officers conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle that was part of Reginald's funeral procession. The stop targeted 24-year-old Wadson Sagaille, identified in a news report as Reginald's brother. According to Miami-Dade Police, Sagaille was a suspect in a homicide case and was under surveillance by the Miami-Dade Robbery Intervention Detail and Miami Police. Officials said that during the traffic stop in the area of Northwest 17th Avenue and Northwest 76th Street, Sagaille pointed a gun at them, and officers opened fire, injuring him. He was taken to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Authorities later stated that Sagaille was wanted for second-degree murder, assault with a deadly weapon, and extortion, and had a lengthy history of arrests.

Reginald's death was the second murder to devastate the Killings family in less than two years. His older brother, Fred Killings Jr., had also been shot and killed in Miami in August 2013. The back-to-back tragedies had a profound impact on the family. His father, Fred Sr., said that being reminded of his two older sons was difficult and that he thought of them almost every day. His younger brother, D.J., was in his junior year of college at the time of Reginald's murder.

Though devastated, D.J. used the loss of his brothers as motivation to continue pursuing their shared dream of playing in the NFL, feeling as if they were living through him when he was on the field. He told a reporter, "They were the ones who stayed on me, they were the ones who kept my drive going... It was a big impact to lose them." The loss of Reginald Killings is deeply felt by his family, who remember him as a mentor and an inspiration. His murder left a void in a family that had already endured immense grief.

His younger brother D.J. went on to sign with the New England Patriots as an undrafted free agent in 2017, a moment his family saw as a ray of light after so much darkness and a fulfillment of the dreams Reginald had for him. As of the latest reports, the full circumstances surrounding Reginald's death remain part of an ongoing investigation. Authorities have asked that anyone with information regarding the shooting contact the Miami Police Department at 305-471-TIPS.