A community is mourning the loss of a 13-year-old Black boy shot to death over the weekend, a death that comes as the number of children killed by gun violence continues to rise in New Orleans.
According to NOLA.com, Juelz Brock, 13, had just finished bowling with a few of his closest friends on Aug. 6 when his mother, Kyrie Brock, received the news that her son was gunned down. She reportedly arrived at the scene ahead of the police, allowing her to look at her son before the police put up the crime scene tape.
The Metropolitan Crime Commission reports that Juelz is the 21st person under the age of 17 to have died from gun violence in NOLA since the beginning of 2023.
Born and raised in New Orleans East, Juelz is remembered as a committed athlete and loving family member. He loved math and was a running back for the football team and a basketball player at Morris Jeff Community School, where he attended through seventh grade.
“I’ve never seen a young boy so dedicated,” said Kyrie Brock, NOLA.com reported. “You would think Juelz was in high school getting ready for college.”
On Aug. 8, New Orleans police arrested a 14-year-old in relation to the shooting, WWL-TV reported. The teen is charged with illegal use of a weapon and obstruction of justice. He’s also charged with negligent homicide, which generally suggests the shooting was not deliberate.
According to NOLA.com, there is no definite motive, but multiple accounts of what transpired have surfaced since the shooting. Some said that the kids were fighting over basketball. Some claim a friend-of-a-friend shot Juelz then fled, leaving his mother at the crime site. Others said the young athlete was the unintended victim of a drive-by shooting.
City council members held a moment of silence for Juelz on Aug. 8 before speaking about his character at the monthly Criminal Justice Committee meeting.
Judge Candice Bates Anderson of the juvenile court, who was giving a presentation at the gathering, said the murder case “is currently in front of us” but declined to comment further.
“He was a perfect kid — not a kid who was supposed to be murdered,” contended Councilman Oliver Thomas, NOLA.com reported. “It’s absolutely unacceptable, when we see innocent kids being gunned down in the street … Where does the next generation come from?”
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