The stabbing of a Northwest Atlanta man Tuesday prompted dozens of shocked community members and friends to attend a vigil in his honor this evening.
Clifford “CJ” Johnson, 58, also known by some as Shakespeare, was well liked in the English Avenue community where he reportedly lived for at least five years. Police say Johnson was stabbed in the neck, in broad daylight, by an unknown suspect. He was found wounded in front of a neighborhood grocery store and transported to Grady Hospital where he later died.
The vigil, held near the corner of Griffin Street and North Avenue, was organized to remember a man who was known to help out elderly neighbors, friends said.
“He was someone you could discuss issues with,” said Vincent Jones, who lives in the community. “He was always someone that spoke to you if you asked something.”
Jones said Johnson was known for his kindness toward the people around him. He had an appreciation for music and could play the bongos and the flute.
“If you were trying to get something done he would come and give you a hand and (he) looked out for neighbors.”
Neighbor Eric Stribling said Johnson could be found picking up trash, helping neighbors in their gardens and doing favors for the older women in the neighborhood.
Disabilities and an ongoing battle with substance abuse kept him from holding a steady job, but he was reportedly trying to turn his life around, Stribling said.
“Sundays he would wear this full out suit and he would just be going from church to church almost his entire Sunday,” Stribling said“You can ask everybody, he changed his life. He was looking for jobs.”
A man known by many names, people are starting to realize the man who was stabbed is the man they knew and liked so much.
“He was a very big part of our neighborhood,” Stribling said.
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