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On Jan. 27, a shooting death occurred in Bangor. It all started when two groups, comparable to the feuding families of “Romeo and Juliet,” were planning to fight in the parking lot of a Brookings-Smith Funeral Home on Center Street.
John “Bobby” Surles, a 19-year-old, was with one of the groups. A witness told police that the group carried various weapons: Surles was armed with a mop handle, while his friends carried Mace, a plastic shovel, an ice scraper, a bat and a knife. But the other group didn’t show up to the appointed place.
So the first group went looking for them. They wound up on Cumberland Street, across the street from where 18-year-old Zachary Carr lived. Carr’s friends said Surles’s group threatened to burn the house down.
Witnesses say a fight broke out between the two groups of males. “You think you’re a gangster, you gang-banging [expletive], I’m hardcore. Wait to see what happens,” Surles is reported to have said to Carr.
Police say that Carr turned a Glock 9mm on Surles and fired from about five feet away. A single gunshot rang out.
Surles was shot in the chest and died later at Eastern Maine Medical Center. Carr turned himself into police the next day and will be tried for murder.
Apparently, the feud started last year after a fight in Chapin Park. According to a friend of Carr’s, a fistfight had gotten out of hand when Surles’s group arrived with weapons and pepper spray. One group member recorded the fight on his cell phone.
Surles’s family members are blaming gang violence, and some of his friends say they want revenge. For example, a Facebook group has been created called “john(bobby)surles death will not go unspoken and” [sic] has nine members. The page states “john surles friends will get revenge,” and “revenge might not be the answer but for bobby’s sake its aight.” [sic]
Carr’s friends who had no role in the shooting have said threats of vengeance have been made against them on Facebook, MySpace and by phone.
I’m not about to attack the personalities of the people involved — that would be speculation. I don’t know nearly enough about these people or this incident.
One thing, though, is certain: This incident had precursors and was brought on by both parties. There are not any angels in this situation.
Carr could have been acting in self-defense, as his friends and attorney say, or he could have shot Surles in cold blood, as Surles’s friends say and prosecutors will probably say.
It appears that Surles and his group were looking to do damage that night. They instigated it.
He may have only had a mop handle, but he was looking to harm. I’m not excusing Carr, but it is clear that both intended damage. Carr simply brought a better weapon.
What would have happened if Surles brought the gun and Carr brought the mop handle? It is impossible to know, but I would wager the result would have been similar.
These matters are irrelevant now, though. Any way you slice it, Surles is dead and police are saying Carr was the one who shot him. There were a number of ways for everybody involved to handle these problems. Instead, weapons were used. When weapons are prevalent in large groups of people, injuries or deaths happen.
If threats are being made to Carr’s friends, the police must intervene. If the Internet is indeed being used by any group to menace anybody, they should be on top of it.
They are now partially responsible if this mess is continued by any party.
An article in the Bangor Daily News said Surles’ group was “teetering on manhood.” Perhaps in age, but not in maturity. That goes for Carr, his friends and those who are seeking misguided revenge as well.
Don’t drag the community into your petty fight. Look at the damage that has already been done.
Michael Shepherd is a sophomore journalism student.
