Hundreds of people gathered Wednesday to say goodbye to a 10-year-old girl who was shot and killed while walking to an ice cream truck outside her home.
Funeral services for Makiyah Wilson were held at the House of Praise Wednesday morning. A red-and-white ice cream truck sat outside the church during the service. Wilson had been running to a ice cream truck when she was gunned down.
After the service ended, mourners lined the street as a horse-drawn carriage carrying her white casket led a procession back to the Northeast Washington neighborhood where she was shot.
"We love you, Princess Makiyah," one woman yelled out as the carriage moved slowly down the street.
"We really trying to hold strong because this is like, this is a hard thing for us because that's my little cousin," Anajah McPherson, 13, told News4.
“Makiyah had a great love for sports, music and video games," a little girl said at the funeral service.
Wilson was only steps from her Northeast Washington home on July 16 when four men jumped out of a car and opened fire into a crowd.
Four other people, including Wilson's 18-year-old sister, were shot and wounded.
"When she actually passed and took her last breath she was laying right there in front of her doorway," Wilson's mother, Donnetta Wilson, told News4.
Police say more than 60 shots were fired before the men got back in the car and sped off.
No arrests have been made.
At her funeral, faith leaders urged the community to help police find the gunmen.
"This is a outright violation and you should demand that whoever those cowards are they can’t sleep, they can’t eat," minister Rahim Jenkins said at Wilson's funeral.
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"Now is the time to stand up and man up. There’s a reckoning that has to take place," Jenkins said.
Wilson had recently completed fourth grade and was enjoying her summer break, Wilson's grandmother, Pandora Wilson, said.
"Makiyah, she was special," Pandora Wilson said. "She loved football; she loved all kinds of sports."
Wilson said her granddaughter was the youngest of four siblings and loved her family. She had recently celebrated her 10th birthday.
"It's so hard to put it in words because it don't feel real, you know?" Pandora Wilson said. "It's so senseless."
Police camera footage shows the moments the masked gunmen pulled up to the courtyard and opened fire while families were outside.
"At 8 o'clock at night, this is a full courtyard. It's full of children, it's full of families," said Wilson's cousin, Raven Hall.
The family has pleaded for the suspects to come forward.
"God's gonna see that they get their justice," Pandora Wilson said. "They are gonna have to answer for it, whether it's down here or up there."
Anyone with information is asked to call 202-727-9099. Those wishing to remain anonymous may text a message to 50411.
