Heartbreak, Outrage Over Slaying Of Student-Athlete In Essex County

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — Letrell Duncan is not forgotten in Essex County.

Mourners came together for a vigil on Monday to honor the 16-year-old high school student, who was fatally shot as he left school for the day in East Orange earlier this month. Gathering at the site of his death, Duncan’s family, friends and dozens of bereaved community members stood in solidarity, making an ardent and passionate call for change.

Their demand was simple: stop the “senseless community violence.”

Duncan’s grandmother, Pamela Courten, implored President Joe Biden to take note of what happened in North Jersey on that tragic day.

“It hurts to my core,” the bereaved teen’s family member told a tearful crowd. “I can’t sleep at night. I’m not the only one. It’s all over the country.”

“How do these kids get guns?” she despaired.

Duncan, a sophomore and standout basketball player at East Orange Campus High School, was shot multiple times near Lincoln Street and Park Avenue around 3:15 p.m. on Oct. 3, just after school let out for the day. He was taken to University Hospital in Newark and pronounced dead at 3:45 p.m., according to a statement from the Essex County Prosecutor's Office and the East Orange Police Department.

The shooting took place in a residential neighborhood near multiple schools, ABC New York reported. It was captured on surveillance video, which shows a crowd of students fleeing, apparently as gunshots take place, CBS New York stated.

The Essex County Prosecutor’s Office Homicide/Major Crimes Task Force is investigating the fatal shooting. No arrests have been made.

The Essex County Sheriff’s Crime Stoppers Program is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the person or persons responsible for Duncan’s death. Authorities said anyone with information can contact the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office tips line at 1-877-TIPS-4EC or 1-877-847-7432, or the East Orange Police Department Tips Hotline at 973-266-5041.

The superintendent of the East Orange Public School District, the city’s mayor and a councilwoman have issued statements in the wake of the shooting, decrying the violence and asking the community to support the family. Read More: Teen Fatally Shot In East Orange; School District Condemns Violence

The mourning hasn’t been confined to East Orange. Community activists in nearby Newark have also been gathering in support of the late youth. Read More: Family, Friends Mourn NJ Student Killed In Shooting

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‘HOW DO THESE KIDS GET GUNS?’

On Monday, mourners came together again for a candlelight vigil on the corner of Lincoln Street and Park Avenue in East Orange. Watch the video below.

In addition to Duncan’s grandmother, speakers at the vigil included East Orange Mayor Ted Green, Lawrence Hamm (State Chairman of the Peoples Organization for Progress), Bashir Muhammad Ptah Akinyele (Community Activist / Weequachic High School History and Africana Studies Teacher in Newark), Keesha Eure (Newark Office of Violence Prevention and Trauma Recovery), Dr. Cynthia Lewis (Community Activist), Marquis Kindel (Youth Advocate), Sharif Amenhotep (Brick City Peace Collective), and Baba Zayid Muhammad (Equal Justice-USA).

The City of East Orange released a social media statement about the vigil:

“Friends, family, neighbors and community activists from East Orange and Newark gathered today on Lincoln Street near Park Avenue to honor Letrell Duncan, a 16-year-old resident whose life was tragically cut short last Monday due to senseless gun violence. Those who spoke addressed various issues, including gun control, mental health, educational disparities, fractured families and Black-on-Black crime, while also making a call to action for the organization and implementation of workable solutions that will help to end the epidemic of gun violence in our communities.”

According to Bashir Muhammad Ptah Akinyele, a high school teacher in Newark, the Lincoln Street corridor in East Orange has claimed the lives of several people in the last three years.

“However, senseless community violence is plaguing Black communities from New Jersey to California,” he added.

A PUSH FOR PEACE IN NEWARK

There has also been a rising push for peace in East Orange’s neighbor city, Newark, which has also found itself grappling with tragedy over the past months.

This summer, Newark saw a grim wave of gun violence across the city, including a drive-by shooting that wounded nine people, a mass shooting that injured four teens, and fatal shootings that have claimed the lives of several Newark residents and others who live outside its borders, including the owner of a corner grocery store.

But in New Jersey’s largest city, officials and community members have been uniting for repeated shows of solidarity, all aimed at showing the nation that they aren’t willing to accept gun violence as just another part of living in Newark.

“This march is for all the folks who are in their house, in their church, in their temple, the neighborhoods … the parents who lost sons and daughters, kids who lost their friends … the silent majority of the people who need to know that we are not alone, and all of us are together,” Newark Mayor Ras Baraka said at a massive “Peace Walk Against Gun Violence” in August.

• See related article: 'Peace Walk' Against Gun Violence Unites Thousands In Newark
• See related article: Queen Latifah, Celebs Spread The Love In Newark At '24 Hours Of Peace'
• See related article: Uptick In Deadly Violence Renews Push For Peace In Newark

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