Six-year-old Nyiah Courtney, who was killed in a D.C. drive-by shooting July 16, was laid to rest Wednesday.
During a funeral service at the The Temple of Praise church at 700 Southern Ave. SE., Courtney’s body was visible to all, behind a glass barrier in front of the altar. She was remembered as a bright child who wanted to become a dancer and a firefighter.
鈥淪he was our baby, and there鈥檚 an old proverb that says that it takes a village to raise a child,鈥� said D.C. Council member Trayon White. 鈥淎nd I just want to go on record to tell you, man, that anytime we鈥檙e killing our babies in that village, our village is sick.鈥�
Courtney was killed in a spray of bullets late July 16 as she rode her scooter in front of a carryout in Southeast D.C. Five other people, including her mother, were wounded.
鈥淭here was a time when you was a gangster in the street, there鈥檚 two things you never bother with: you never bother with women and you never bother with children,鈥� said Pastor Walter L. Staples. 鈥淩ight now, we鈥檝e got entirely too many punks and suckers that鈥檚 running around shooting out of cars.鈥� He repeatedly called D.C. a 鈥渂loody city.鈥�
Marktwan Hargraves, 22, of Waldorf, Maryland, is charged with second-degree murder while armed in connection with Courtney’s death.
At a DC Superior Court hearing Wednesday, Hargraves was ordered to remain in jail without bond.
A two-day preliminary hearing is scheduled to start Sept. 23.
Hargraves’ lawyers are battling prosecutors’ attempts to obtain his DNA profile through a saliva sample taken at the jail earlier this month.
草莓传媒’s Dick Uliano, John Aaron and Jack Moore contributed to this story.
