MarShawn McCarrel II, who was from suburban Franklin Township, shot himself outside the front door of the Ohio Statehouse on Monday and died at the scene, State Highway Patrol Lt. Craig Cvetan said.
It’s unclear why he killed himself, Cvetan said.
MarShawn McCarrel II was an activist on issues of social justice who also worked with young people and the homeless, a newspaper reported Tuesday.
Relatives of MarShawn McCarrel II said he prioritized his causes and they suspect work affected him more than they realized, The Columbus Dispatch reported.
“He just wanted to serve people,” his twin brother, MarQuan McCarrel, told the newspaper.
According to the Dispatch, a post on his Facebook page hours before the shooting said: “My demons won today. I’m sorry.”
Authorities said nobody saw the shooting, but McCarrel, who was not a state employee, was seen on Statehouse grounds just before the gunshot.
McCarrel had helped organize an effort to feed the homeless, worked as a youth mentor and helped with local protests after high-profile police shootings led to the Black Lives Matter movement.