La Plata, MD— In a matter of moments a young man’s life ended and a family, and community were changed forever.

On a late September night, an argument erupted into gunfire claiming the life of Mason Cameron Atkins, 18 of Deale.

Charles County Sheriff’s Office homicide detectives investigated the shooting that took place in the 9100 block of Mona Farm Place in La Plata. A preliminary investigation revealed the victim and his friends learned of a party on Mona Farm Place and showed up uninvited.

On Oct. 11, members of the Charles County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division arrested four people in connection with the Sept. 25 shooting of  Atkins.

TheBayNet contacted Mason’s older brother Michael Loiacono by email. Loiacono stated, “Mason affected a multitude of people, including Joe Tucker from J.T.  restorations, who said Mason very a good worker and would complete any and all tasks assigned to him.”

This very unfortunate event has changed had lasting effects on Atkins’ family, whose members are still trying to reason with this senseless action.

“Losing Mason has devastated our lives forever, and it will never be the same, losing Mason has created a hole in our lives that can never be filled,” said Loiacono.

TheBayNet spoke to multiple members of Atkins family, throughout the last couple weeks. The family has been severely troubled with Atkins passing.

“We want the community to know that Atkins had great friends, that were with him to the very end trying to save his life. This has affected so many people lives,” said one family member.

When the family was asked how they plan to carry Atkins memory, they responded, “We plan to create a memorial at the Owings Beach pier as a symbolize of Mason’s legacy, where he loved to hang out and fish on a daily basis.”

To visit a GoFund me page that the family has put together, refer to the link below.

https://www.gofundme.com/2rj6kzmk

To view previous articles please refer to the links below. 

http://www.thebaynet.com/articles/0916/motorist-killed-in-popes-creek-shooting-killer-at_large.html

http://www.thebaynet.com/articles/1016/fourchargedinconnectionwithcharlescountymurder.html

Contact Joseph Norris at joe.norris@thebaynet.com who also contributed to the above article. 

Contact Charles Seifert at c.seifert@thebaynet.com