Cornelius Neal McDonald, 33, was a well-known community leader from Upper Marlboro, Maryland, who founded the nonprofit Stay Solid to support youth and young adults with mental health challenges. Family described him as a father, mentor, peacemaker and the glue of the family; his work was motivated in part by the unsolved murder of his brother five years earlier.

In the early morning of Saturday, November 30, 2024, McDonald was a customer at Jasper’s Restaurant in Largo when an argument with a man he did not know moved into the parking lot in the 9600 block of Lottsford Court. At approximately 12:45 a.m. the other man shot McDonald; he was pronounced dead at the scene from his gunshot wounds. The Prince George’s County Police Department investigated and identified a suspect; on December 3, 2024, 35-year-old Terrelle Bailey of Washington, D.C. was arrested and charged with first- and second-degree murder and related firearm offenses.

The community mourned the loss of a man who dedicated his life to preventing the very violence that ended his life, and family and friends pledged to continue Stay Solid’s work in his memory.

If anyone knew Cornelius McDonald, his work with Stay Solid, or saw events outside Jasper’s Restaurant that night, please share what you know.