JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Someone shot and killed Devron Crowden on Dec. 10 as he waited at the bus stop. There have been no arrests. Two local pastors came together Saturday to send a powerful and emotional message in an unconventional way.
Most funeral's don't involve a pastor firing a gun, but this one did. While the gunshots weren't real, the message about life, death and consequences was.
It's a message Bishop Rudolph McKissick Jr. and Pastor John Guns wanted to drive home as they celebrated the life of 16-year-old Crowden.
William Oliver was friends with Crowden.
"We would always go to the park and we would just chill, We would just light up the whole park. He would, he was having everybody laughing and we would go around just chilling and he would have the whole scene just laughing," said Oliver.
Crowden's family, classmates and friends came together to remember him Saturday. Crowden is the fifth person under the age of 18 to be shot and killed in the northwest Jacksonville area this year.
"I'm a black man, too, and I feel like that could be me out there," said Oliver.
Gun in hand, McKissick encouraged teens listening to stop the cycle of violence after acting out the biblical story of Cain and Abel, a man who killed his brother.
The pastors invited those who wanted to change their lives to come join them on stage. Oliver said the use of the gun and the overall message was powerful.
"It was hard to look at but you had to see where they are coming from, you had to really understand why they did it because he's showing us what we are doing to ourselves. And we talk about Ferguson, we talk about how Jacksonville and it's really it's gotta start with us right here," said Oliver.
This was the second funeral held at Bethel Baptist for a teen shot and killed in Jacksonville. McKissick said he and Guns wanted to deliver a message so that hopefully they won't have to host another one.
"Come on, are y'all listening? We're trying to break the cycle," said McKissick.
McKissick and Guns said they really wanted teens to listen, so it couldn't be a typical funeral service.
"There's a song, there's a prayer, there's crying, then there's this sermon, then there's this come give your life to the Lord call or appeal. But we chose to do it differently because we wanted to communicate that as he said there are consequences to every choice," said Guns.
Pastors said they wanted those attending the funeral to know there are options, forgiveness and most importantly love.
"You never know if killers are going to be here. We don't give up on the killers. We can't. My hope is that some are prevented from going that way those that are in that way be changed today and leave that way," said McKissick.