Around two dozen people who knew Curtis Knox’s laugh and charisma gathered at Claddagh Pub in Canton Monday night to pour one out for “the people’s choice.”
Knox, 41, was among three people shot in the 1000 block of South Hanover Street just before 3 a.m. on Saturday, Baltimore Police said. The three men — Knox, a 40-year-old and a 35-year-old — were hospitalized.
Knox died at the hospital, while the two other men, who have not been identified, had non-life-threatening injuries, police said.
“It was the biggest disbelief and, immediately, just like my heart turned off,” said Kelly Spillane, who organized Monday’s gathering for Knox.
Knox and Spillane both worked as hosts for Volo Sports, a social and recreational sports league where other staffers voted them the “People’s Choice” last year. Representatives from Volo did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but some of their staffers and players, along with others from the community, flooded the Canton pub Monday night to celebrate Knox’s life.
Jory Matherson, one of Knox’s friends, said his favorite memory was of the two of them having a heart-to-heart conversation that Matherson said eased his worries about becoming a new father. Knox had one daughter, friends said.
Matherson, who said he met Knox through other friends, remembered Knox as being funny, outgoing and charismatic.
“He was one of these guys that was in the community. You never knew when you’d run into Curt, but when you did, you knew you were going to have a good time,” Matherson said.
Knox earned a psychology degree from Morgan State University in 2017, according to his LinkedIn profile and school officials. Knox worked as a substitute teacher in Baltimore City Public Schools from 2017 to 2019, a district spokesperson confirmed.
His LinkedIn profile also shows that he earned his barber’s license from Bladensburg Barber School in 2011. Many friends said he worked as a barber at the time of his death, but Emily Passera said that he had discussed a vision of starting a nonprofit to support youths after his time in Baltimore schools.
“He was a community builder,” Passera said.
Knox joined the Alpha Chapter of Iota Phi Theta Fraternity at Morgan State University in the fall of 2015 with three other men, including Terrod Roberts Jr.
Roberts, Knox and two other men they pledged with lived together in a townhome in Belair Edison while in college. Roberts described Knox as very blunt and a “straight shooter,” but also goofy and playful.
“We met up in the living room a lot. We went out to eat. We hung with friends. We threw parties,” Roberts said of their college days. “It was going down for sure.”
The last time he saw Knox was Nov. 21, 2025, for one of their fraternity brothers’ birthday parties.
“We spent a lot of time that day together beforehand. Like, he cut my hair. We went to see some of his friends … chilling,” Roberts said. “I love him to death, and I wish I could still talk to him right now.”
Other members of Iota Phi Theta Fraternity’s Alpha Chapter mourned Knox’s loss in a post on Instagram.
“Bro. Knox was a light for many and leaves behind a legacy that embodies the strengths and values of an Iota man,” his fraternity brothers shared in a post on Instagram.
The chapter is hosting a candlelight vigil for Knox at 3 p.m. Saturday, June 13, at Morgan State’s Hurt Gymnasium on Saturday.
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