Tomorrow, Nov. 28, marks one month since Combs High School junior Preston Lord, 16, was severely beaten outside of a Queen Creek Halloween house party that got out of control near 194th Street and East Via Del Rancho Road. He died from "a severe brain injury" on Oct. 30 after the Oct. 28 assault.
On Wednesday, Queen Creek police issued an update saying that while there have been no arrests, “significant progress has been made” in the investigation. Read their complete Nov. 22 update HERE.
Early on, a GoFundMe account was started by Preston's aunt, Melissa Lord, HERE for his medical, funeral and memorial expenses. Today, that account has raised $104,455, showing the outpouring of community support for the Lord family.
In addition to monetary donations, the community has embraced the Lord family with numerous candlelight vigils, hanging yard and business signs, even taking his GoFundMe photo and placing it on an orange background (Preston's favorite color) encouraging others to make it their Facebook profile picture and using the #justice4prestonlord hashtag on social media until there is "Justice for Preston," meaning arrests and convictions in the homicide case.
Now, the community is organizing a "Light the Night" walk on Tuesday, Nov. 28 in Preston's honor.
"As a community, we will be walking Tuesday night at 6 p.m. as we 'Light the Night' to honor Preston, condemn this act of violence and those attacks prior to Preston, and to ensure that local law enforcement and the FBI knows we as parents and community support their thorough investigation," Dawn M. McKnight wrote on our Queen Creek Sun Times Facebook page.
She said the walk will start at 6 p.m. at American Leadership Academy Queen Creek, 19843 E. Chandler Heights Road, and will proceed north on Hawes Road to Ocotillo Road, and end at the Queen Creek Police Department, 20727 Civic Parkway.
This will be a 2.1-mile walk and everyone is invited to show their support for the Lord family by participating, wearing Preston's signature color orange. They said the public can join in at any point during the walk and they advise wearing comfy shoes, reflective gear, glow necklaces/flashlights and orange shirts to "Light the Night" and show "Justice for Preston Lord," using the hastag on social media posts, #justice4prestonlord.
