An eleven-year-old boy was shot and killed at an anti-violence cookout in Washington D.C. His mother, Crystal McNeal, works hard to stamp out violence in the city.
I commend McNeal for her activism and my heart breaks that something like this could happen to her.
Police have no clues in the shooting or if the boy was targeted or whether he was hit by a stray bullet meant for someone else.
The child was not even supposed to be in town as he was supposed to be in Florida with his grandfather but the DTMNBN (Disease That Must Not Be Named) scare prevented them from going.
The boy’s grandfather says that although he agrees with some that cities should send out social workers ion some calls, he would like to see even more police in order to stem the growth of violence.
Police say that five men opened fire on a nearby street just as Davon was going to retrieve his earbuds and phone charger when he was shot and killed. Davon aspired to be a professional basketball player when he grew up. But his dreams were dashed by one bullet fired in anger.
The child’s paternal grandfather, 50-year-old John Ayala, said Davon was supposed to be with him over the weekend, on a vacation in Florida, though the plans fell through due to coronavirus-related issues.
Ayala praised Davon’s mother as “the person who helped that community,” tragically noting, “She was putting on a community cookout to stop the violence, and her own son got killed.”
“Noting the demonstrations against racism and police brutality that have raged in the District and elsewhere since the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Ayala said he agrees with some protesters who say cities should turn to social workers and other civilians — rather than police — to deal with poverty, homelessness and other social problems,” The Washington Post reported.
Ayala emphasized, however, “We need more police, to put a dent in this crime.”
