GUNS--another tragic story

[Lady Cop]

this isn't about being anti-gun. but i do hate stories like this. a terrible tale all around. it hurt my heart to read about this kid's life...and death. so needless. just read what he had overcome. from homeless to West Point. he had a bright future ahead. all gone in the flash of a gun muzzle, an instant. :(
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CTPost
Marcus Dixon was homeless as a young teenager. He was in a motorcycle accident as a youth that nearly killed him. His life made a "180-degree turn" after a Stamford family adopted him at 17. He played football at West Point.

Dixon's dramatic life ended at age 22 in Stamford on Thursday night when he removed the magazine from his .45-caliber Glock pistol, and tried to demonstrate to friends that it was safe by pulling the trigger with the gun pointed at his head.

One round was hidden in the chamber and Dixon fatally shot himself, police said.

"I have him in mind when I talk to the kids and tell them that they can achieve what ever they want no matter where they come from," Stamford High School Head Coach Bryan Hocter said. "He came from nothing and what he achieved in his life was remarkable."

Dixon never knew his biological mother. He said in an interview four years ago that his father dropped him off in Stamford when he was in seventh grade with the parting words: "Kid, you're on your own now."

He managed to avoid foster homes. While bouncing around from one friend's home to another, he became friends with 15-year-old Lauren McInerney. After her family took a liking to Dixon, Rose and Barry McInerney tracked his father down and legally adopted Marcus. Dixon said four years ago that it turned his life around.

"If there was any question about who you wanted on your side, I would pick Marcus Dixon," said Kevin Jones, who coached the Stamford High School football team when Dixon was a player.

Dixon's acceptance to West Point "was probably one of the finest moments of my professional career," Jones said. "For him to go to West Point was such a great turnaround."

Jones, who kept up with his former player through the years, said Dixon played for the U.S. Military Academy Preparatory School after graduating from Stamford High School in 2009. He played for the Army team at West Point under the name Marcus McInerney two years ago, but did not play any games, Jones said. Last year, he opted out of the football program to concentrate on academics, Jones said.

Hocter said he ran into Dixon at the Stamford Government Center in July while Dixon was taking an exam in hopes of becoming a police officer.

"He was dressed really nicely, and spoke very well. I told him that I did not recognize him. He said, `Coach, I have grown up and come a long way,'" Hocter said.

Shortly after 7 p.m. Thursday, Dixon was showing his gun to two friends in the rear apartment at 785 Stillwater Road in Stamford, where he moved two weeks ago, police said.

Stamford Police Capt. Richard Conklin said Dixon, who obtained his pistol permit in the last six months, may have believed the weapon he was holding had a magazine disconnect safety, which makes the gun inoperable when the magazine is removed.

But Conklin said Dixon's pistol did not have that safety feature.

Stamford police Lt. Diedrich Hohn said Dixon was pronounced dead at the scene, and drugs or alcohol do not appear to be a factor in the death.

"There was nothing illegal. It was a tragic accident," Hohn said.

A woman at the home declined to comment on Dixon, but acknowledged the incident did happen at the address.

When police and paramedics arrived at the scene, two of his friends were performing CPR on Dixon but he could not be resuscitated, Hohn said.

Laura Dembofsky, a senior at the University of Connecticut, said several of her current classmates from Stamford gathered Thursday night when they heard about Dixon's death.

"He was friends with everybody. ... Regardless of athletics, he was one of the nicest people I've ever met," she said. "Everyone knows he was always smiling and encouraging everybody."

UConn senior Katie Pape, a friend of Dixon's in high school, said Dixon would challenge his friends "to be a better person."

"He could do something so simple as break a smile and brighten your day," Pape said. "He could make you feel better about yourself."

Read more: http://www.ctpost.com/news/article/Ex-fo...z26fYbnyzP








Marcus Dixon with his adopted family, Erin, Lauren, Kelley and Rose and Barry McInerney