Man killed in west Baltimore mass shooting was beloved boxer, coach
'He made a huge impact on the youth'
'He made a huge impact on the youth'
'He made a huge impact on the youth'
Family and friends are mourning a Baltimore boxer who was killed Thursday in a mass shooting.
Many who knew Ernest Hall, 32, called him "Ernie Bug" and said he wanted to ensure children had opportunities. He was a coach at the Lightning Quick Fit boxing gym on Morton Street in midtown, and he was training for a fight on April 1 in New Jersey. Those who knew Hall said he could make the whole place light up.
"I'm upset. I'm truly hurt about this, I'm truly hurt about this," said Robert Coleman, a coach at the gym. "I think whoever did it is wrong because Ernie didn't bother anybody. He stayed to himself, worked hard."
Hall was at the gym four hours before he was shot and killed at the Princess Plaza Shopping Center on Edmondson Avenue in west Baltimore. Witnesses said they heard multiple shots. Police told 11 News officers responded to a ShotSpotter alert, and from their investigation, they now know multiple shooters got out of a vehicle and fired their weapons.
Officers found four men and a 15-year-old boy suffering from gunshot wounds. Hall died at the scene.
Balloons were tied outside the gym as part of a memorial to Hall. Friends and family spoke about how much of a mentor Hall was to children.
"(He was) a good boy. As he grew up, (he) became a man and took care of his responsibilities, and people loved him, and I loved him as a son," said Floyd Mitchell, and east Baltimore neighbor
Verinique Homer told 11 News her two sons got interested in boxing because of Hall.
"It's devastating. He didn't deserve it. I feel like his life was stolen from him. It's unfortunate. He made a huge impact on the youth. There's a lot of children he touched that looked up to Ernie," Homer said.
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Hall's brother was shot and found inside a burning car in 2016. After his brother's death, Hall made a video called "Guns to Gloves." In the video, Hall described why he found an outlet in boxing.
"This is the main reason why I box is because I feel like boxing is a main outlet for me to make some money and I can move out of the city. I have a daughter, and I don't want her to grow up the way I grew up and seen the things I've seen in the city," Hall said in the video.
