OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – One of the co-hosts of a popular podcast based out of Oklahoma City says she’s heartbroken after one of her employees and family friends was shot and killed over the weekend.
Oklahoma City police say Javier Morales Jr. was killed October 12 while sitting in his car outside of a metro liquor store. One suspect, Brooklyn Miller, was arrested on an accessory to murder complaint.
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“He was sitting in his car, became involved in an altercation with probably more than one person,” said MSgt. Gary Knight with the Oklahoma City Police Department. “I don’t know the exact number, but more than one. At some point during this altercation, he was shot and killed.”
Jennifer Welch, co-hosts of the “I’ve Had It” podcast says she got the news the same evening from Morales’ family. She says Morales had been working for her the past six years as her building manager and as a podcast production assistant. In that time, Welch says Morales had become family.
“I loved him so much…He just has this can-do attitude,” said Welch. “He was just amazing and this kid genuinely was so positive and so happy all the time.”
Welch shared numerous positive memories with Morales from his experience riding a plane for the first time, to his bond with one of her dogs and even bringing an office plant back to life she thought was a lost cause.
“I was like Javi, maybe we should just throw it away; and he goes no, I think I can bring it back,” said Welch.
Welch says her team is shattered into a million pieces and that they even had to cancel an interview after learning about Morales’ death because they were too distraught.
Welch also says she’s also been in regular contact with Morales’ family, even setting up a fundraiser to help cover funeral expenses. She emphasized there’s one thing Morales’ family wants the general public to know.
“I talked to his brothers and his mom and his dad, and, you know, they want everyone to know this was a really wonderful person,” said Welch. “A person you could rely on, a person that was at the wrong place at the wrong time and was a victim of gun violence.”
Welch says Morales’ father also works for a non-profit called Live Free OKC, which aims to curb gun violence through intervention and outreach. Welch explains so many Oklahomans, including herself, have become desensitized to gun violence, making it hard to process when it hits so close to home.
“Sadly, you hear about people getting shot all the time, and you don’t know the people, and you think for a second ‘that’s horrible’ or ‘that’s sad’ and I guess if you live in America long enough, someday somebody you love more than anything on the planet is going to get shot,” said Welch. “I’ve seen that other countries that have had gun violence have actively sought to make safer spaces for their citizens and I’m hopeful that the majority of us vote for that and demand that so that these kids are not dying.”
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