On Sept. 3, 2017, Mike Locksley, the head football coach at the University of Maryland, and his family got a knock on their door that he said would forever change their lives: The police told him that his 25-year-old son, Meiko Locksley, had been shot and killed.
“We were left that night feeling numb and hurt,” said Locksley, who was an assistant coach for the University of Alabama at the time.
On the third anniversary of Meiko’s death, Mike Locksley gathered with his family and members of the Howard County Police Department to announce that the reward in the case had been increased to $20,000.
Investigators believe Meiko Locksley was shot in the chest on Harpers Farm Road, in Columbia, at 10:20 that night He was taken to University of Maryland Shock Trauma, where he died.
“I can assure that we have left no stone unturned, but today we still gather here with no arrests, asking for the public’s help,” said Cory Zirk, commander of the police department’s Criminal Investigations Bureau.
“Someone out there knows what happened. If there was something holding you back from giving information to the police back then, we are asking you to reconsider and come forward now,” he said. “You may have that one small detail that may seem insignificant to you, but may be the last piece of the puzzle for our detectives.”
Police don’t believe the shooting was random and also have not determined whether drugs, an argument or robbery played a role in the killing.
Locksley asked anyone with any information that could help solve the case to come forward to the police.
“He will forever be in our hearts, and we just hope and pray for closure,” Locksley said.
He said the past three years have been difficult and, through the adversity, that his family realized time is the most valuable commodity they have.
“Nothing will ever fill the void that we have left in our hearts, [with] us not being able to watch him grow to be the man, the father, the husband that we had hoped he’d become,” Locksley said.
Anyone with information should call the Howard County Police at 410-313-STOP or email HCPDcrimetips@howardcountymd.gov.
Howard County Police Chief Lisa Myers said her department won’t give up until the family has the closure they are seeking, and she urged anyone who might have information which can help police to come forward.
“We believe that there is someone out there who knows what happened,” Myers said.
