Teen shot during vigil for murdered Keon Lincoln
A COMMUNITY activist has condemned the shooting of a 17-year-old boy during a memorial service for murdered teenager Keon Lincoln.
Police were called to Handsworth Cemetery when a teenager was shot in broad daylight as crowds gathered to mourn the first anniversary of Keon’s horrific murder on Friday afternoon.
After the attack, community activist Desmond Jaddoo appealed for more to be done to tackle youth violence.
He told the Birmingham Post: “It’s shocking. A cemetery is a place for solitude and reflection and I find it highly disrespectful that this has occurred.
“This time last year, a young mum had to bury her 15-year-old son.
“Bearing in mind the number of murders of young people that have taken place last year, I can’t begin to comprehend what would go through the mind of any individual to discharge a firearm at the cemetery. This adds weight to my argument that the streets are out of control.
“Intervention is required and we need to join together to tackle this issue of youth violence.
“This is a cemetery. It’s a sacred place, it’s consecrated ground. It’s demonstrating the need for clergy, campaigners and politicians, no matter what their political persuasions are, to get around a table and start looking at how do we deal with this.
“No one should be in danger going to a cemetery.”
He continued: “It is fashionable, and that’s the problem. Using guns, knives, violence, it’s becoming fashionable, just like the latest pair of trainers.
“In a city where we’ve got the Commonwealth Games in less than six months time, let’s invest in our young people.
“Let’s create greater opportunities to divert them away from this type of lifestyle. The greatest Commonwealth legacy we could have is reenergising of the spirit of the Windrush generation when we were all one.
“It’s not about black on black crime, it affects families from all walks of life.”
Det Sgt McCullogh, from West Midlands Police CID, said: “This is a shocking thing to happen in broad daylight and while people were paying their respects after the tragic loss of Keon last year.
“There remains so much sadness following his death. Guns have no place on our streets, they cause misery and harm and we do not want to see more people injured or killed because of them.
“I’d encourage anyone who has any information to contact us – anonymously if you prefer – because as we’ve seen here, and when Keon was murdered, carrying weapons is dangerous and causes heartbreak.”