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Family, friends hold vigil for murdered 11-year-old, Karon Brown

Karon was supposed to be at football practice the night he was shot and killed.

Family, friends and the Southeast D.C. community held a vigil Tuesday for 11-year-old Karon Brown, who was shot and killed on July 18.

Karon was supposed to be at football practice the night he was shot and killed. 

Dozens of people came out to Stanton Elementary Tuesday night to remember his life.

"Thank you, God,  in the midst of tragedy for the gift of Karon Brown," a man leading the opening prayer said. "We want to thank you, God, for the time you allowed him to spend in this world."

He prayed God would offer Karon's family peace as they deal with their grief, and that the violence in their ward and D.C. would subside.

"We are not one another's enemy ... we are all on the same team.," he prayed. "We pray for transformation to take place...all across this wonderful city of Washington D.C."

Karon's family briefly spoke to the crowd, with his mother thanking people for coming.

"Karon was loving funny, everybody loved him," she said. "He was the joy of our lives." 

Credit: Family
A photo of Karon Brown before he was shot and killed in Southeast D.C. on July 18, 2019.

His brother reminisced about the 11-year-old's personality. 

"Karon was a funny, funny kid," he said. 

Even his football coach, Julian Lewis, briefly addressed the crowd. 

"Karon did touch my heart in a special way," Lewis said. "He was always smiling...I don't care what he was doing, there was a smile."

Perhaps the most tragic scene was a group of Karon's friends, all around the same age as him, standing at the front with posters of their slain friend, almost at a loss for words.

One remembered Karon's first interception.

"He was so hyped about that interception," he recalled. "Like, even the next day, he was like 'hey bro, that interception was so tight, bro.'"

Another friend remembered Karon's first touchdown.

"He had a smile on his face, he was so happy," he remembered, before breaking down into tears.

The man accused of pulling the trigger, Tony McClam, 29, allegedly told detectives he had fired repeatedly into the car Karon was in, but didn't see the 11-year-old cowering in the back seat.

Credit: Family
Karon Brown on his football team before his death.

Police sources said the entire incident started with a dispute over who would have the right to sell water, cookies and Gatorade near the corner of Naylor Road and Alabama Avenues SE.

McClam allegedly told police he went to confront Karon last Thursday at a McDonald's up the street. He said it was in retaliation after the 9-year-old he refers to as his stepson had been jumped and then repeatedly beaten, allegedly by Karon's little brother.

RELATED: The fight started as a dispute over territory, selling water and cookies, police say. It ended with the murder of 11-year-old, Karon Brown

McClam said he was joined by an adult friend and two other children. One of the children punched Karon, and the 11-year-old ran off and jumped into the back of a car whose driver had stopped to see if he was all right.

McClam, 29, told detectives he chased the car and argued with the driver, and then started shooting when the driver reached down, as though for a gun. But detectives said the attack was caught on surveillance video and that there was no sign of McClam acting in self-defense, according to an affidavit filed in D.C. Superior Court by police detective K. Giannakoulias.

Credit: WUSA
People gather at a vigil for 11-year-old Karon Brown, who was shot and killed in SE DC.

RELATED: He was supposed to be at football practice that night but never made it. A gunman shot and killed 11-year-old Karon Brown before he got there

At the vigil Tuesday, local leaders and activists called on the community to make a change.

"All of us are responsible for [the death of] Karon. No one is responsible but us," Trayon White, the Ward 8 councilmember. "And we've done a piss poor job."

He implored people at the vigil to tell someone near them they love them.

"Hurt people hurt people," he said. "We have to address the trauma or it'll repeat over and over again."

Karon's football team retired his number in memory of the 11-year-old.

Bruce Leshan, WUSA9, contributed to this story. 

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