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Funeral For Slain 4-Year-Old Lloyd Morgan Wednesday

Jul 31, 2012

Lloyd MorganFour-year-old Lloyd Morgan (pictured) will be laid to rest on Wednesday following funeral services at a church in Harlem. Morgan was struck in the head and killed by a stray bullet during a vicious gun battle that broke out during a charity basketball game last weekend in the Bronx.

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The shooting stunned the nation because yet another young life was cut short by a senseless act of violence. The death also comes at a time when blood is being spilled on the streets of urban areas across the country, from New York to Chicago to Anaheim, Calif.

Watch Lloyd Morgan’s mother talk here:

Law enforcement officials have attributed the high murder rate to escalating gang violence and many are calling for stricter gun control laws, while the Daily News reports that some elected officials are saying the the incident has given them a more positive view of the much-maligned NYPD’s “Stop-and-Frisk” policy.

RELATED: Rev. Al Sharpton Takes NYPD’s ‘Stop-And-Frisk’ Law To Task With Upcoming Silent March

In response to the soaring violence and in Morgan’s memory, the Rev. Al Sharpton, along with Morgan’s mother, Shianne Norman; a group of ministers; entertainers; radio station owners, and other key influencers have joined forces to start an “Occupy the Corner” Movement for the month of August.

“We need to choose corners near churches and headquarters and occupy corners on the weekends and stand and have vigils and a physical presence of peace and gun-free zones in our community,” Rev. Sharpton said, according to NY1.

While details are still emerging on what happened on the night of Morgan’s death, Rondell Pinkerton was indicted Monday in the shooting, the Daily News reports.

NBC New York reports the following details about the shooting:

A third man has been arrested in connection with the fatal shooting of a 4-year-old boy during a basketball tournament in the Bronx.

Police on Friday charged 19-year-old Ronald Jeffrey of the Bronx with murder, attempted murder, and criminal possession of a weapon.
The boy, Lloyd Morgan, died July 22.

Police say about 13 rounds were fired from either side of the court and adjacent playground, where Lloyd was standing with his mother. She wasn’t injured.

Police have also charged 17-year-old Rondell Pinkerton with murder and criminal possession of a weapon. Twenty-six-year-old Courtney Kelly of the Bronx, who was wounded in the shootout, was also charged with criminal possession of a weapon.

A 21-year-old man was wounded in the shootout. Information on Jeffrey’s lawyer was not immediately available.

Besides Sharpton, other members of the community have also been supportive of Norman, Morgan’s mother, who cried out for the arrest of people who murdered her baby. Bronx Assemblyman Eric Stevenson presented the family with almost $6,000 in support, reports show.

“The sunny and energetic boy, called ‘Little Lebron’ by his mom, died watching a basketball game – his very favorite pastime,” the Daily News reports. “ ‘He was going to be a basketball player and the next Black president together,’ she said.”

The Rev. Al Sharpton will deliver the eulogy at 7 p.m. at Mt. Neboh Baptist Church at 833 Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd., which will be preceded by a public viewing from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m, according to a news release obtained by NewsOne. A private viewing for friends and family will be held Tuesday night at Owens Funeral Home.