Funeral services were held last Friday in Hempstead, Long Island for 12-year-old Dejah Joyner at Union Baptist Church. The family and the community continue to mourn for her death as police continue to look for her killer.
Joyner’s young friends from Alverta B. Gray Schultz Middle School cried and held each other at the pre-teens private funeral. The community remains in shock and outrage over the senseless killing.
During the service, Joyner’s sister, Zala Johnson-Rice, reportedly read a poem in memory of her younger sibling.
“She was only 12 and lost her life to the streets and she wasn’t even in the streets,” Johnson-Rice said.
The Rev. Sedgwick Easley, pastor of Union Baptist Church, spoke at the closed-casket ceremony about Joyner who was a Girl Scout, enjoyed attending church and was the youngest of five siblings.
On the night of Oct. 16, Joyner was in her home on Dartmouth Street in Hempstead, eating dinner in her living room. A stray bullet came through the bay window in the front of the house, going into her brain.
Family members report that Joyner’s mother, Keisha Miles Joyner, made the gruesome discovery of her child on the floor. The 12-year-old was rushed to Winthrop-University Hospital in critical condition before dying a day later.
Law-enforcement officials report the shooting was gang-related and that Joyner was caught in the crossfire.
“Something about Dejah was different,” Easley said. “She had a way that you could not help but to love her.”
Easley also used the opportunity to talk about the senseless violence that is a regular occurrence in Hempstead. He said Joyner was caught in a “storm.”
Joyner’s casket was carried out by pallbearers into a white, see-through horse-drawn carriage that displayed a photo of her. Her body was carried through Hempstead to Greenfield Cemetery in Uniondale, where she was buried.
“It’s more emotional because you think about your own kids, and then you look at the fact that she lost her life for no reason, and no one can explain why this happened,” said family friend Darlene Saunders in one report. “And I hope they catch the person who did this to her.”
A $75,000 reward is being offered for information that would lead to an arrest for the Oct. 16 shooting.
Since the shooting, the Guardian Angels, a nonprofit, volunteer patrol organization, has become a presence in Hempstead, walking the streets and going door-to-door asking people to come forward with any information.
A GoFundMe page has been created to help the family. To make a donation go to www.gofundme.com/ke6kkkpn.
