The Final Call is still following and will continue to follow the story of Qaadir and Naazir Lewis, twin brothers who were found shot dead on the top of a Georgia mountain (See The Final Call, Vol. 44 No. 26).
Their bodies were discovered March 8. A preliminary investigation by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation revealed their deaths to be a murder-suicide, but their family has been challenging the ruling. The GBI’s investigation is active and ongoing.
Final Call Staff Writer Anisah Muhammad conducted several interviews via phone with members of Qaadir and Naazir Lewis’ extended family members, including on March 31 by telephone, with Tiger Harris, uncle, and his sister and the twins’ stepmother, Kaarini Lewis, and on April 2, she again interviewed Mr. Harris along with a cousin who did not wish to be identified.
The twins’ father, Tyrese Lewis, was also present during the conversation with Kaarini Lewis and Tiger Harris.” The Final Call also spoke to Qaadir and Naazir’s paternal aunt, Antoinette Lewis, their father’s sister, via Google Meet on April 3. Below is a compilation of the interviews edited for clarity.
The twins’ plans and a timeline
(FCN): The Final Call Newspaper
What do you believe happened to the twins?
Tiger Harris: What I believe happened, I’m speaking for me right now. I know that saying it out loud for Kaarini, their bonus mom, it’s hard for her to hear. But definitely, it was a lynching. It was definitely a lynching. And let me explain to you why I say that.
They were found in Ku Klux Klan territory, a historical sundown town, on top of a mountain. And then the pictures were shared even to children. Historically, what do we know about lynchings? They were public.
They had to be public, right, because it was sending an example to teach, whether it was for the Black onlookers, “Don’t mess with us because we will lynch you.”
Whether it was for the White people, because they called it a “picnic,” and they made their children even dress up and come watch, and they were made to watch and enjoy seeing this stuff.
You have many different types of lynchings, but the point of a lynching is to be public and to show Blacks, “We’re in control, you need to fear us,” show Whites, “This is what we do,” and show the children, “You ought to grow up and hate them and do the same thing.” It’s psychological.
FCN: News outlets reported that the twins were at their sister’s house in Chamblee the night before their flight. Did they make it back home to Lawrenceville that night?
Kaarini Lewis: So, we saw them Friday night. That was the last time we saw them.
FCN: Could you confirm what date that was?
Tiger Harris: That was on March 7.
FCN: And what time was the flight?
Kaarini Lewis: It was a Saturday morning flight, so the 8th. It was going to be around 7:00 a.m.
FCN: It was previously reported that the flight was March 7, but it was March 8?
Kaarini Lewis: Yes, he (Naazir) had a flight on Saturday morning.
FCN: What time did they leave the home that morning for the flight?
Kaarini Lewis: That’s what we don’t know because we last saw them Friday night.
FCN: What was their location on Friday night?
Kaarini Lewis: We last saw them on Friday night because they were at home, and we said goodnight that night.
FCN: And after that, they left that early morning and you didn’t see them again?
Kaarini Lewis: Correct. We didn’t see them again after we said our goodnight.
FCN: Are you aware of the time they would have left the house that morning?
Kaarini Lewis: No.
FCN: Do you know who the friends are that they were going to visit?
(Note: The twins’ father, Tyrese Lewis, voiced a response. Due to a stroke he had in November, he is limited in speech. The Final Call could not make out his words.)
FCN: I assume the twins were driving to the airport?
Kaarini Lewis: Yes.
Tiger Harris: He (Naazir) was leaving on March 7 but missed the flight, (and) came back home. So, like she was saying, the last time she saw them was when she took the young ones to bed, and she went to bed herself.
(Note: According to Mr. Harris and Ms. Lewis, to their knowledge, Naazir was the only one who was traveling and when he missed his initial flight, for Friday, March 7 at 8:50 a.m., he rebooked it and that flight was scheduled to leave at 7:00 a.m. on Saturday, March 8.)
FCN: He missed the flight on Friday?
Tiger Harris: On Friday morning, yeah. So, he had to rebook for Saturday.
His bags and everything were at the door to put back in the car to go to the airport on Saturday.
FCN: Was his brother (Qaadir) dropping him off at the airport?
Tiger Harris: That I don’t know. I don’t know what their plans were. The only reason why the airport thing is important to the story is because it goes to show that if you have a flight booked, especially if you’re a young, underemployed kid and you book a flight, you’re not trying to miss that flight, and so you’re not committing suicide. That’s why that’s important to the story.
FCN: Did either of the twins own a gun?
Tiger Harris: No.
The twins’ family life
FCN: How long have Tyrese and Kaarini been married?
Tiger Harris: I introduced them, and they had been dating for a while then got married. Since 2012. … That’s around when they first met.
FCN: How long were they living with their dad and stepmom, and how long were Tyrese and Kaarini raising them?
Tiger Harris: They were staying weekends and stuff in other periods of time with their dad and bonus mom. But I know in high school, they weren’t doing well at the school they were at. So, Kaarini actually got a house in a good school district (around 2020-2021). They moved permanently in January 2022.
FCN: Who were they staying with before that?
Tiger Harris: I’m not too certain. … I believe it was with their mom.
FCN: They started thriving more at the new school they were at?
Tiger Harris: Absolutely. Running track, playing basketball. Naazir played basketball. Qaadir ran track.
FCN: How many other children do Tyrese and Kaarini have?
Tiger Harris: Two of the youngest ones. One is two. The other one is six.
FCN: How have you all been coping with this tragedy?
Kaarini Lewis: It’s been very hard. It’s been very, very hard. We still don’t know so many things. It’s not making sense.
Tiger Harris: I say one thing, though. The prayers and the support from the community has definitely helped.
Qaadir and Naazir’s personalities
FCN: What were your cousins’ personalities like? How were they? What did they like doing? What did you enjoy about them?
Cousin: They were both very resilient people. One of them was majoring in mechanical engineering while the other was doing, I don’t remember the specific term, but I believe it’s called aerospace engineering. They were both very resilient.
They had their own jobs. They were always trying to find ways in order to make more money and eventually to continue to start the lives they always wanted. They took care of their family. They were always playing with their younger siblings and driving them to and from school.
They enjoyed playing basketball and working out as well. They were always checking in on me randomly, no matter what the day was. They were also very open-minded people. While they were not Christian at the moment, they were open to going with me to church.
They always looked out for each other. They were always together. Whatever one was doing, the other would be doing as well. They were also always willing to check in on each other … and set one another straight if they didn’t think they were doing the right thing.
Another thing is that they strived to be very emotionally intelligent people. If they ever noticed anything slightly off about you, they wouldn’t push you about it, but they wouldn’t leave you alone until you felt comfortable enough to explain what exactly was wrong. And then from there, they would try to offer any help they could or just be there for moral support.
They would take my little siblings and their siblings as well to the park, the pool, the trampoline park or anything like that.
Whatever way they thought that they could try to help you out, they would, whether it was teaching me how to do something, helping me out with my homework or anything like that, giving me advice on life as well.
FCN: How would you describe the twins as individuals?
Antoinette Lewis: (In an hour-long interview, the twins’ aunt, Antoinette Lewis, shared that Qaadir loved to read. Both young men loved to watch anime. They would often cook dinner for their family, and they loved sweets.
Their aunt enjoyed taking the twins out and spending time with them by playing games and watching TV. They spoke to her about getting a new car and getting their own apartment.)
They had plans for life. They were going to go to Kenya this year. I was walking them through getting passports; just lively young men, and for some reason, their story got cut short. I don’t know what happened.
FCN: Do you all have anything else you would like to share?
Kaarini Lewis: Everything that’s in the press is what we know, basically. But as you know, Mr. Lewis has had a stroke, and he’s still recovering from that. He loved his sons.
They were helping him with his recovery, with the physical therapy and the speech and helping him stand and walk and stuff like that. But I also just wanted on his behalf to say that he deliberately named them and gave them strong names when they were born. Right Tyrese?
Tyrese Lewis: Mhm. (Responded in the affirmative)
Kaarini Lewis: That would reflect their culture. So, Naazir and Qaadir were named very deliberately by their father. He did the research on finding African Muslim names.
I know he was very particular at naming his children, and he’s always been very close to his sons. And he adores them. If you ever met him, that would be the first thing he tells you, about his sons, and he was very proud of them. And we all are.
They were going to school, and they had a bright future ahead of them. They had plans for the future. We were talking about their birthday, which is coming up (their birthday was April 5).
So, we’re like everybody else just trying to figure out what happened, because it still doesn’t seem real to us. We’re in shock, we’re in mourning, but it’s still hard to comprehend.
