Twelve-year-old John Lil John Cooksey Jr. was shot while attending a funeral service at Bonaventure Funeral Home in Savannah, Georgia, on the afternoon of February 3, 2018. He was taken to Memorial Health University Medical Center with life-threatening injuries and died on February 5, 2018.

The service was for Ricky Jerome Boyd, who had been killed by police the previous month while officers attempted to serve him with a murder warrant; investigators said they did not believe the funeral shooting was retaliation related to Boyd’s death. Savannah Police Violent Crimes detectives, SWAT and the Hostage Negotiation Team arrested 15-year-old Deion Micah Pinckney in the early hours of February 4. He was initially charged with aggravated assault, aggravated battery and possession of a firearm by a minor; after Cooksey’s death the charges were upgraded to murder and he was taken to the Regional Youth Detention Center.

John’s death shocked the community and cut short a child’s life. If anyone attended the funeral or has information about the shooting, please share what you know.