Just A Minute: Please Take a Moment in Remembrance of Kennis Croom

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — For those of you who don't visit Tuscaloosa much in the summertime, when Mother Nature takes center stage and most people head outside as little as possible, the community has been reeling over the past few days due to the loss of one of its beloved sons.

Last Thursday, police officer Kennis Croom was shot and killed while responding to a domestic situation in Meridian, Mississippi.

The Croom family is one of the most prominent and well-known in the area. His father Kelvin is a senior pastor at College Hill Baptist Church and a former University of Alabama football player.

Kennis was also the nephew of Sylvester Croom, the All-American who went on to be a head football coach at Mississippi State.

Also slain was the pregnant girlfriend of the suspect, a former police officer himself in Mississippi who was apprehended a day later by U.S. Marshalls.

Croom was 30 years old. He had been with the Meridian Police Department since October.

Please keep the family in your thoughts and prayers during this difficult and emotional time, plus a city that is trying to deal with the heartache.

Those interested in making a gift may do so with the Croom Foundation. Meanwhile, numerous services and ceremonies will continue through the weekend:

Memorial Service: Thursday, June 16: 1 p.m. Meridian High School Gym
Viewing: Friday, June 17: 12-4 p.m. Northport Funeral and Cremation Services
Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Incorporated Omega Ceremony: Friday, June 17, 6 p.m. Northport Funeral and Cremation Services
Celebration of Life: Saturday June 18: Shelton State Community College. Lie In State: 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Service is at 1 p.m.
Burial: Memory Hill Gardens in Tuscaloosa

Among the tributes to honor officer Kennis Croom in Tuscaloosa included a book release by former classmates and his hometown being lit in blue.

Officers from across West Alabama and East Mississippi escort the body of Meridian Police Officer Kennis Croom, a Tuscaloosa native, to a funeral home in Northport Friday evening on McFarland Blvd.

Police Officer Kennis Croom’s squad car has been placed in front of the Meridian Police Department as a memorial. Flowers and balloons have been placed on the car and messages have also been left to him.