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Jalil George didn’t have any enemies in Park Heights. He was there to check on his investment property, which he had been tediously renovating for months in anticipation of flipping it for a profit, according to friends and family.
After witnessing George’s ambition, friends and mentors envisioned him on a Forbes 30 under 30 list in the next few years. Instead, his life was cut short in a fatal shooting Wednesday afternoon at his investment property in what police are investigating as a case of mistaken identity.
George, 24, was driving a car that was similar to a car used in a different shooting that occurred earlier in the neighborhood, according to police.
At a vigil on Saturday at the Western School of Technology, the Catonsville high school George graduated from, dozens of friends and loved ones gathered to honor his memory. They described him as inspirational. They said he was funny, even when he was trying to be annoying. They remembered his infectious grin. And he developed a reputation among his friends for his unending fixation on finding success in the real estate business.
Will Rodgers, a real estate investor who grew up in Baltimore, connected with George in 2019, when George was a sophomore at Morgan State University studying electrical engineering. Rodgers, about two decades George’s senior, gave the young investor his number at a business meet-up and told him he would give him the first 15 minutes of advice for free, then bill him for anything after that.
But George began calling Rodgers every week, and Rodgers never found the heart to charge him. He was too impressed with his drive. George reminded Rodgers of himself 20 years ago, he said.
“There was a lot of people he reached out to for guidance, because he always wanted more,” Rodgers said. “I was one of those people, and there were a lot of other investors who always fed into what he was doing.”
Rodgers made about 10 visits to the Park Heights property on Oswego Avenue that George was renovating, he said, and offered advice on the design and layout. Though George had been doing wholesale real estate investing for years, this was his first flip, Rodgers said.
“He was so proud of it,” Rodgers said. “The young kids, they document everything. So he had all the footage of him buying it.”
George and his business partner, Harmony Obasi, founded Limitless Real Estate Investments at Morgan State in 2019. The two often were featured together on TikTok and other social media apps, laying out business strategies, flaunting the purchases they were able to make with their profits and encouraging followers to reach out to them for lessons.
A fellow investor commented on one of George’s TikTok tutorials on real estate investing, jokingly telling him to “stop giving away the sauce.”
“We want everyone to win!” George responded in a comment.
Luis George, Jalil’s father, said he had urged his son when he was in college to go into engineering.But after a few months of working for Exelon, Jalil George was back to real estate.
“It was in his blood,” said the elder George, who himself owns 138 properties.
Speaking at the vigil, Doug Goldman, a family friend of the Georges, said Jalil’s killing was one of those things in life that “wasn’t supposed to happen.”
“Jalil represented hope for something better tomorrow,” Goldman said. “And because he’s not here with us today doesn’t mean he’s not with us tomorrow ... He’s there to help us. He’s there to guide us. He’s there to keep us on track, because that’s what he would do if he was standing here with us today. A very strong, young king.”
Investigative reporter Justin Fenton contributed to this report.
bconarck@thebaltimorebanner.com
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Ben Conarck is a criminal justice reporter for The Baltimore Banner. Previously, he covered healthcare and investigations for the Miami Herald and criminal justice for the Florida Times-Union.
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