Florida mom shot at her slain son’s funeral service
Her son was shot and killed by a sheriff's deputy
A mother who was attending her son’s funeral service was shot by an unknown gunman herself. Her son was fatally shot by a sheriff’s deputy earlier this month.
The Saturday burial service for Sincere Pierce in Florida was interrupted when a gunman fired blindly at the crowd of about 50 people.
The mother of the deceased teenager, Quasheda Pierce, was reportedly wounded while at the service in Riverview Memorial Gardens, USA Today reported.
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The extent of Quasheda’s injuries are not known, but sources who were there say she suffered a leg injury. She laid on the ground, helplessly, and it took awhile before the guests could process what was happening.
Soon after, people either rushed to help Quasheda or ran back into their cars for safety. Quasheda was rushed into a minivan by friends and family before ambulances and EMTs showed up.
The shooting took place when the pastor finished his prayers and people close to Sincere were placing their flowers on the late 18-year-old’s casket.
Sincere, alongside Angelo Crooms, also known as A.J., 16, was shot multiple times by Brevard County Sheriff’s Deputy Jafet Santiago-Miranda, who thought the teens were driving a stolen car. The teens reportedly refused to pull the car over on Nov. 13.
Before the funeral service, the families of the two teens held a vigil on Nov. 15, demanding answers as to why the police would shoot Sincere and A.J.
“We need justice. We want the names of the deputies and their badge numbers. There’s going to be some justice for A.J. and Sincere,” said Quasheda said.
The car was not stolen, however, it was taken with permission and the involvement of the police was a mistake, the Pierce and Crooms families’ lawyer, Natalie Jackson, said.
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The incident was captured on a body cam. Sheriff Wayne Ivey explained the teens were pulling into a driveway after being followed by two sheriff’s cars without lights.
The car, being driven by Croom, was moving in the deputy’s direction when Santiago-Miranda ordered the teens to stop. He shot both of them in a frantic response to perceived danger.
“[Santiago-Miranda’s] was then forced to fire his service weapon in an attempt to stop the deadly threat of the car from crashing into him,” Ivey wrote on Facebook.
