JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The church and Christian school where 16-year-old Ranod McKann attended are stepping up to help the grieving family.
Police said the boy was killed when two men robbed and shot him after he played a game of dice with friends.
It happened about 9:45 a.m. Saturday at the Landon Imperial apartments on Art Museum Drive.
McKann's church congregation is trying to help the grieving family by paying for the funeral.
"It hurts so bad because he didn't bother people. He was a quiet boy, he stayed to his self," said Gerlene Sheffield, McKann's grandmother.
Police say it appears he was killed over a couple of dollars.
To make things a little easier people at McKann's church are stepping in.
"This is a child that will never graduate high school, this is a child that will never have a family, this is a child that will never give his mother any grandkids. So we just feel like this is the least we can do in honor of the family," said Bishop Terrance Calloway, of New Life Cathedral.
Calloway said his church is collecting money for the young man's funeral. He's already promised to pick up the bill, saying it's one less thing the family will have to worry about right now.
"Some of them are grieving, some are still in awe, disbelief," Calloway said.
McKann's family went to the North Shore chapel for services and until last year, he also attended school there.
Bishop Calloway said he was a good student and only transferred to Arlington Country Day School so he could play football.
"He was on the right track. Nothing negative I saw. He was going to school, learning lessons, trying to play sports, and trying to be the average high school kid," Calloway said.
Now, instead of gathering for his football games and graduation, McKann's family has to pull together to lay him to rest, with his killer or killers still on the loose.
"I believe in forgiveness. You still have to pay for what you've done. So it's of the utmost importance that we as a community help the authorities find this person so someone else doesn't lose a child," Calloway said.
The church's 5 p.m. Sunday service was cancelled. Instead, Bishop Calloway and congregation members are at the apartment complex McKann was killed, consoling his family.