Instead of celebrating America’s Independence, the country was gripped with fear over violence and death, which had erupted over the fourth of July weekend. What makes it equally horrific is that a number of those that were killed are children.

One of them is 11-year-old Davon McNeal, who was killed by stray gunfire. His mother, Crystal McNeal, a self-proclaimed “violence interrupter” said that over the weekend, the family hosted an “anti-violence” cookout.

After the event ended, Davon was supposed to get his phone charger and earbuds. Unfortunately, authorities claimed that five men started shooting at each other on a neighboring street. A stray bullet from the shooting struck the 11-year-old in the head.

Currently, the suspects remain at large. While authorities believe that Davon happened to be at the wrong place, and at the wrong time, the Washington Post suggested that his death might be related to gang activity. Specifically, since his mother, Crystal worked as an anti-violence advocate in areas with the most hardened criminals.

WaPo explained that last year, Crystal had come between two feuding groups in Anacostia’s Cedar Gardens area. While the people who are involved were able to veer away from gang activity and land a job program- the peace did not last long. In fact, the individuals soon return to their regular criminal activity as surveillance footage captures armed men opening fire on the same block that Davon was shot. The incident happened while a fireworks display was taking place.

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Davon’s paternal grandfather, 50-year-old John Ayala, claimed that the family initially agreed that the child would stay with him over the holiday in Florida. However, the plan fell through due to increasing concerns over the coronavirus. Ayala recounted how Davon was a gifted football standout who dreamed of going pro and praised Crystal as someone who had dedicated her life to helping the community. “She was putting on a community cookout to stop the violence, and her own son got killed,” Ayala said.

While Ayala agreed with other demonstrators that social workers should step in to help the police deal with several social issues such as poverty and homelessness, he stressed that “We need more police to put a dent in this crime.”

Davon’s football coach, Kevin McGill, was also saddened by Davon’s loss. “We just had a real genuine kid who wanted to get out of the neighborhood. That’s all he said is, ‘I’m gonna make it,’” McGill said. He also expressed his contempt over the death of innocent lives saying, “These kids’ lives are being robbed over nothing.”

Sadly, the violence did not end there. During the weekend, a 26-year-old migrant police officer was also killed in the line of duty after he responded to a disturbance. On Independence day, officer Anthony Dia tragically lost his life after a drunk man outside of a Home Depot store shot him. Dia was a Lebanese-American and practicing Muslim. He had also left behind a wife and two sons.