On what would have been 7th birthday, a Milwaukee family remembers a 'young King'

On the day of what would have been a celebration of Daquell Collins' 7th birthday, family, friends and community members instead remembered him in tragedy.

Through song, prayer and memories, speakers took turns Friday evening speaking about the boy known lovingly as King, who died in a shooting earlier in the week. Some described him as a "dancing machine" while another spoke of the way the child made him strive to be a better man. Others who attended wore shirts that wished the boy a happy birthday and said, "forever 6."

"I know King is feeling the love," his father, Rashadd Vinson-Turney, said while speaking quietly to those in attendance.

The crowd of about 100 people gathered near where the child was killed on Tuesday in what family members said they believed to be an accidental, self-inflicted gunshot wound. Family and those close with them spoke, sharing how much they loved King. His father reminisced on picking him up after school, in an interview with the Journal Sentinel.

King loved McDonald's and, without fail, the 6-year-old boy would ask his dad to buy him the restaurant's $5 meal deal — a combo of a McChicken with a four-pack of chicken nuggets, along with a drink.

Vinson-Turney said his son loved his family, including his three siblings, and being around them.

"He just was a good kid," King's father said.

Attendees like Ashley Johnson knew the family and wanted to support them. She lost a child as well and related to the parents' grief.

"This is not something anyone should have to go through ever," she said.

The vigil followed the arrest of three people this week, the Milwaukee Police Department told the Journal Sentinel. Police arrested a 21-year-old man, a 40-year-old woman and a 26-year-old woman in connection to the Tuesday night shooting and among those arrested was the child's mother, Daquela Collins.

The Milwaukee County Sheriff's Jail roster showed Collins was in custody as of Thursday, but charges had not yet been filed. Milwaukee police have declined to confirm the relationship between King and those arrested.

Collins' stepfather, Aundayous Burks, said he co-parents with Daquela and told the Journal Sentinel it was his understanding she was not home when the shooting occurred and was arrested once she arrived.

If ultimately charged with a felony, that would follow longstanding practice by the Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office. The prosecutor's office routinely files criminal felony charges against the parents whose children harm themselves in accidental shootings. In other counties, similar incidents are usually charged as misdemeanors, a Journal Sentinel investigation found.

Milwaukee prosecutors utilize the state's felony child neglect law to do so, while other counties follow a 1991 law that says when children are hurt or killed accidentally in a shooting, the caregiver who was supposed to keep the gun out of reach should be charged with a misdemeanor.

Earlier this year, 4-year-old JaiNadia Little was shot and killed and appeared to be the result of an accidental shooting, according to court documents in that case. The mother was charged with felony child neglect in the incident.

For some who know Daquela, they said her arrest didn't sit well with them. They said the mother loved her son and it hurt her not to be at the vigil for him.

One speaker at the vigil read out a heartfelt message the mother had written for her son.

Burks, advocated for the mother, while saying King, whom he first met when the child was 2 years old and shared a secret handshake with, "made him a better man."

"His mama loved him with all her heart. She was there for him since day one," Burks said. "His mama would go broke for him."

The shooting of King drew a call from Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson for adults to protect young people by using safe gun practices and for the "appropriate people" to be held accountable.

“I am enormously saddened by the death of the 6-year-old last evening," Johnson said in a statement. "Let’s be clear, guns must never be used or left unattended around children."

Throughout the vigil, speakers like local activist Tory Lowe called for people to do better. Burks echoed that call for Milwaukee's residents to do better — but turned his attention to King.

"All I can say is he's good now," Burks said. "We need to do better for him."

A GoFundMe for King's family had raised more than $1,000 as of Friday night.

David Clarey is a public safety reporter at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. He can be reached at dclarey@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Family holds vigil for Milwaukee boy, who died in shooting, on birthday