UPDATE: Nnonso Ekwegbalu has confessed to firing the shot that killed Kevin Miller. For more info, click here.
ORIGINAL STORY
Nnonso Ekwegbalu has been arrested in connection with the death of Kevin Miller, a 13-year old Queens boy who was shot in the head as he walked to McDonald's after school with a friend. From The New York Times:
The suspect, Nnonso Ekwegbalu, 16, of 183rd Street, in Laurelton, was charged with second-degree murder, criminal possession of a firearm and assault in the death of the 13-year-old, Kevin Miller, and the injury of another teenager, the police said.
The shooting erupted during a fight between two students from Campus Magnet Humanities and the Arts High School in Cambria Heights, Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly said. The authorities did not immediately confirm that Mr. Ekwegbalu attended that school. He was expected to be arraigned Monday in Queens Criminal Court.
As they fought at the intersection of Linden and Springfield Boulevards in Cambria Heights, Mr. Kelly said, one of the students drew a revolver and fired twice. A shot hit Kevin, who died at Long Island Jewish Medical Center hours later.
…
Kevin, a freshman at Campus Magnet High, was a junior usher at the New Jerusalem Baptist Church of Jamaica, loved basketball and enjoyed home make-over shows, his mother said.
“I’m angry,” said Betty Hood, 69, Kevin’s grandmother. “I’m hurt, but I’m just trying to trust in the Lord.”
Kevin’s wake was tentatively planned for Friday and a funeral was to follow on Saturday, the family said.
“I have to live the rest of my life with my son not coming home,” Ms. Greaves said. “I don’t know if I can adjust to that.”
According to in the New Yord Daily News, Miller was on his way to McDonald's with his friend as a reward from his mother for doing his chores and getting good grades. Per this same article, Miller and his friend ran away at the sight of trouble, knowing better than to even be around it. He was enjoying a his free time on Friday with a friend, saw a scuffle that didn't involve him, ran away like he should and still some knucklehead shot him in the head and killed him.
What's left to say? We can't just chalk this up to being collateral damage or just a victim of the streets. Who are we becoming and who do we want to be?