North Little Rock community gathers to celebrate “Tank Day”

NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – The Dixie community in North Little Rock gathered Saturday at Conley Park to honor the memory of a young man in the spirit of stopping violence.

18-year-old Aaron Crawford — affectionately known as “Tank”, was shot and killed in an attempted carjacking at a bank in North Little Rock in 2015.

Tank had just graduated high school with goals of someday becoming a state trooper.

His family remembers him as generous, fun-loving and the kind of person everyone wanted to be around.

Now they hope his legacy will inspire young generations who never had the chance to meet him to live lives free of violence.

“We’re building up and doing this for the kids. Trying to stop the violence, if we can reach a kid, you know, that’s a plus,” Alvin Crawford, Tank’s father said.

In addition to keeping their son’s memory alive, every year the family raises money for school supplies and Christmas presents for local families.

The city of North Little Rock declared July 17 as the official “Tank Day” in 2015.

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