The mother of a 13-year-old boy who was shot to death Monday afternoon in eastern New Orleans said her son had been feuding for the past few months with his alleged 14-year-old killer over his resistance to joining a gang.
Linda Miller disputes comments made by Police Superintendent Warren Riley during a press conference Monday that the shooting may have stemmed from an argument over marijuana.
She said her son didn't sell or use drugs.
Miller described her son, Shaka-Daquan Miller, as a "brilliant child" who was "respectful, a joy to know" and who could "keep you laughing."
Miller said her son's problems with his alleged killer stemmed as far back as December, when the 14-year-old was among two carloads of teens armed with guns who came to her eastern New Orleans home to "jump" her son because he refused to join their gang.
"They told him he was going to join the gang or else," she said.
She said the boys took off when her husband, J.D. Miller, came outside.
She said she contacted police after the incident and gave them copies of photos she printed from the social-networking site MySpace of the same boys holding guns, but nothing was done.
Miller said the problems continued with a fight between Shaka-Daquan and the 14-year-old at Carver Elementary School in January, which, she said, resulted in the other boy being put out of the school. She did not say the name of the boy she suspects shot her son.
At the time of his death, Shaka-Daquan was attending Schwartz Alternative School on the West Bank. His mother said he was sent to the school after a dispute he had with an assistant principal at Carver around the end of March. He had been attending Schwartz for only a few weeks before his death.
She said that to her knowledge, Shaka-Daquan and the 14-year-old hadn't seen much of each other recently until the shooting on Monday.
Shaka-Daquan was headed to the store with friends, she said, when the 14-year-old, armed with a handgun, approached and opened fire, hitting Shaka-Daquan. His body was found in front of a home in the 4800 block of Flake Avenue.
Shirley Dixon, who lives in the area, said she suspected something awful had happened when a group of teen boys bolted past her residence, a couple of blocks from where Shaka-Daquan was found.
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Originally Posted by prettyuglyish
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