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StumbleuponHundreds mourn victim of accidental shooting
> Photos from the funeral | Condolences
Sunday, August 17, 2008
DaShawn Smith Jr.'s father DaShawn Smith Sr. is supported by the teen's mother Yolanda Dewberry (left) and grandmother Sandra Smith-Rowe during his funeral service Saturday,
Aug. 16, at St. Paul Global Outreach Ministries church. Smith was accidentally shot Aug. 11 by a 13-year-old friend.DAYTON — Hundreds of mourners packed St. Paul Global Outreach Ministries church Saturday, Aug. 16, for the funeral of DaShawn L. Smith Jr., 15, who was accidently shot and killed Monday by a 13-year-old friend.
Heavy hearts, wailing cries and an air of unspeakable grief filled the church at 2050 Germantown St. for the boy friends and family called Butter. Yet amid all the sorrow came words of comfort and thanksgiving.
"All I can say is he loved everybody. He was here to share that love," said DaShawn's mother, Yolanda Dewberry. "I was once told God needs his angels, too, and God is too wise to make mistakes."
"Every time you'd see him, there was a smile," said his father, DaShawn L. Smith Sr. "You didn't need to reward him for him to reward you."
Added stepmother Shawnta Wilborn-Smith: "I'm so happy I actually had a chance to have him in my life."
DaShawn, an incoming student at Jefferson (Twp.) High School, died Monday after a friend shot him in the face while he stood on the front porch of the shooter's house at 715 Tyson Ave. Police haven't released details of the case, but Wilborn-Smith said the shooter was trying to unload his dad's semiautomatic handgun when it accidentally went off.
Montgomery County Prosecutor Mathias H. Heck Jr. has decided not to charge the youth, who was held in juvenile detention most of the week during the investigation.
Heck's office did approve a first-degree misdemeanor charge of child endangering against the shooter's father, Winston Chambers, according to spokesman Greg Flannagan. He faces up to 180 days in jail and a $1,000 fine if convicted.
Several mourners Saturday wore T-shirts with DaShawn's photo. "Auntie's Angel — Gone Home," read one. "In Memory of Butter," read others.
Those who spoke during the service prayed for the shooter, too. Along with the Rev. Charles Bass, they exhorted the congregation to learn from the tragedy, to remember that tomorrow is never promised.
"Now it's time for change to come about in our lives," said Monica Johnson of Jefferson Twp., mother of a basketball teammate of DaShawn's. "It's time to get it right with God."
A fund has been established to cover DaShawn's funeral expenses. Anyone who wishes to donate can do so at any Fifth Third Bank or Chase Bank branch.
Firearm deaths of children in the U.S.
The Children's Defense Fund's 2008 report, Protect Children, Not Guns, shows that 3,006 children and teens died in 2005 from firearms, the first increase in such deaths since 1994.
The report, based on the most recent data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, says 1,972 died from homicide, 822 from suicide, 173 by accident and 39 that were undetermined.
