11-year-old shot and killed Saturday is the son, and grandson, of DC violence interrupters
WASHINGTON (WJLA) – An 11-year-old boy was shot and killed in Southeast D.C. Saturday night, police say.
On Sunday, D.C. Police identified the victim as Davon McNeal, of Southeast. McNeal was a student at Kramer Middle School.
"We are saddened and heartbroken over the passing of our young king Davon McNeal..Might Hornets fly high...YOU will be missed!!!" the school tweeted Sunday.
ABC7's Justin Hinton spoke with McNeal's paternal grandfather, John Ayala, who is the founder of DC Guardian Angels.
"Being out here and fighting this for all these years, I never thought it would hit home," said Ayala.
Ayala says McNeal was smart, loved football, and learned from his mom's example the importance of giving back to the community.
"WE'RE NOT ALLOWING YOU TO DO THIS HERE"
"They were going to do a community cookout for the community and he was with his mom and when he gets out to get the charger, that's when he was shot and killed," said Ayala.
Ayala says this won't stop his fight. If anything it will push him to keep going, but it takes help from residents.
"Stop believing in the snitches get stitches. Stop going in your house, dropping the shades, putting extra locks on your doors, buying a pit bull so nobody can come to your door. No, you have to open up the shades, unlock the door, sit on your porch and let the criminals know, we're not allowing you to do this here. If you do it, I'm going to report it," said Ayala.
COMMUNITY SUPPORT
On Sunday, the Watkins Hornets Youth Association shared a Facebook post about McNeal and reminded parents to tell their children they love them every day.
There are no words to adequately express the sorrow and grief we feel over the death of another human being, let alone an innocent 11 year old child. Please pray for the family, and friends of DayDay, Davon McNeal. #WatkinsHornets #MetroBengals. The DMV football community is grieving. Give your children an extra hug today, and tell them you love them every day.
The Metro Bengals Football team also shared a Facebook post about McNeal and mentioned that a fund is being set up and arrangements are being made "to celebrate Day Day's life."
WHAT HAPPENED
D.C. Police Chief Peter Newsham said Saturday a group of about five men started shooting in the 1400 Block of Cedar Street S.E. When police arrived at the scene at approximately 9:21 p.m., they found McNeal suffering from a gunshot wound. He was taken to a hospital and was pronounced dead.
“As you can see, we have a lot of detectives, we have a lot of crime scene search people on the scene working through, trying to get information,” Newsham said.
Metropolitan Police are asking anyone with information on the shooting to call 202-727-9099. Anonymous information can be submitted to the department's TEXT TIP LINE by messaging 50411.
This story has been updated Monday, July 6, 2020,
