Family, friends mourn 14-year-old boy killed in DC on Halloween night
WASHINGTON - A 14-year-old boy shot and killed on Halloween night in Southeast D.C. is now being remembered by friends and family.
Antione Manning is the 16th teenager shot in the District this month and the second to die, according to D.C. police records.
The Southeast community is grieving the loss of the young boy affectionately known as "Doodie."
Neighbors say his own mother tried to pull him to safety as shots were still being fired at them.
The shooting on Halloween night elevated cries from the community to address gun violence in D.C.
"I’ve been talking about this, and talking about this and talking about this for months now," D.C. Police Chief Robert Contee III said Monday night at the scene of the shooting. "Our young people are showing up either as victim or suspect in a lot of these crimes that have occurred."
"Somebody’s blood on the ground, right in front of his mother man. It’s just … In front of his mother," said Trayon White, D.C. Councilmember representing Ward 8.
RELATED: 14-year-old shot and killed in Southeast DC on Halloween night
The shooting happened around 8:45 p.m. Monday in the 2600 block of Birney Place Southeast.
Those who knew Manning, described the ninth-grader as a bright and talented athlete with a personality that made everyone smile.
"Just a good kid, very outgoing," said Jawanna Hardy, a family friend and the founder of Guns Down Friday.
"His mom’s got several boys. She’s on top of them all the time. In school every day, played football for Watkins," Councilman White added.
A memorial — with a jersey of the football team he helped lead to a state championship and handwritten notes from friends, family, and teammates — now hangs on the fence next to where Manning was killed.
"I’m concerned about those young men left behind losing a comrade like that," White said. "The way they cried, the way they were shaking, the other young men around here we got to deal with the trauma and pain they’re dealing with right now."
READ MORE: More safety concerns arise after 7 teens shot in DC
Manning’s death is the latest in a string of juvenile homicides.
According to recent crime data from D.C. police, there have been 14 homicides involving kids under the age of 18.
That is more than double the amount from a year ago. Many in the community are fed up and demanding change.
"When I grew up kids were off limits. Kids, women, was off limits and so this right here is ungodly and inhumane," White said.
"It’s just getting unacceptable. You can still see the bullet holes in the ground where the young man was shot," Hardy added. "We got to do something. Change has to come because we are witnessing this over and over again."
Police told FOX 5 that they are still searching for the suspects in this case. On Wednesday, detectives released an image (below) of the suspect's vehicle. It was captured on a nearby surveillance camera.
