Funeral Held For Teen Gunned Down Just Steps From Miami Gardens Home
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MIAMI GARDENS (CBSMiami) -- Dozens joined the heartbroken parents of 17-year-old Roderick Sweeting, ambushed and gunned down last week just steps from his home.
Family called the funeral a "homegoing" service for the teen, as the large Bethel Apostolic Temple in northwest Miami-Dade was packed with not a dry eye in the house Saturday afternoon.
"He was the type of young man that gave love and he always smiled," said Debra Paris George, the victim's aunt. "And by all the people showing up, his peers, his teachers, it was a blessing to see how much love he shared in the school and in the community."
The one bit of relief for Sweeting's grieving family is that police have arrested three teens in the murder -- and prosecutors intend to try them as adults.
Investigators said surveillance video, fingerprints lifted from the fence surrounding the Miami Gardens apartment complex where Sweeting lived, and witnesses confirmed that Devon Vickers, 15, Quamaine McMillian, 15, and Rachid Jacques, 16, were the killers responsible.
The arrest report said all three fired their weapons and shot Sweeting more than 20 times.
Back at the funeral, his aunt told CBS4's Donna Rapado that the family grieves not only for their own loss, but also for the mothers of the three accused killers.
"Our hearts go out to them also. But they have to stop violence. They need to put the guns down. Put God first, then their education," said George.
The accused teens are locked up in juvenile detention until their next court hearing later this month -- that is, unless a grand jury first finds that they should be tried as adults.