‘King died’: 8-year shooting victim honored as NS community mourns | The Canadian News

She was cheerful, she dressed nimbly, and she loved to high-five.

Eight-year-old Lee-Marion Cain, or Mar Mar as she was known, was also full of potential.

The young man was killed earlier this week, in a blatant shooting at Dartmouth.

Despite her young age, Lee-Marion had already made an impression on her close-knit Nova Scotia community in North Preston.

He was a third grader at Nelson Whynder Elementary School, where a monument of teddy bears and notes continues to grow. The Halifax Regional Education Center said the school will open on Friday to offer support to students.

“He was a special sweet boy,” Juliette Thomas, a member of the school’s Dalhousie Outreach Dental Clinic, told Global News.

Thomas went on to say that “Mar Mar” was always giving bumps or hugs “with his big contagious smile, cool with arrogance and the best outfits”.

The boy was recently crowned “king” at the community’s North Preston Day festivities. His confidence was clear in photos of him in a red and black suit, sporty sunglasses, as he was traveling in a convertible after his coronation.

“He died like a king,” said Miranda Cain, cousin and CEO of North Preston’s Future, a nonprofit group.

Cain said it’s not just his family that is grieving, it feels like the entire community has lost a child.

“We lost a great and very valuable person who would have contributed so much to our community if his life had been saved. “

In an update Wednesday, Halifax Regional Police said Lee-Marion was in a vehicle with a 26-year-old man when his vehicle was fired upon in the area of ​​Windmill Road and Waddell Avenue. The shooting occurred at 4 p.m., during rush hour, in the busy commercial and industrial area.

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Lee-Marion died in hospital from his injuries, while the man received treatment for non-life-threatening injuries.

Police said the suspects were described as two black men driving a burgundy pickup truck, possibly a Chevrolet, with tinted windows. Few other details were released, including whether the two vehicles were moving at the time.

Prayer vigil

On Thursday night, an online prayer vigil was held, where religious leaders prayed for the family, for peace and for justice.

More than 400 participants participated in the vigil, as community members spoke of the importance of reaching out and getting help during this difficult time.

“We must find a way to heal our hearts and help is available,” said Deacon Rose Fraser of Emmanuel Baptist Church.

“And that is what we want to make known. Help is available that we don’t have to suffer alone. “

Organizers of the vigil said a support line was established in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic began offering mental health support to Nova Scotia’s African community, and the counseling offered could be beneficial to anyone struggling with this tragedy.

The number to call is 1-855-732-1235.

“Sometimes what we usually do as Africans from Nova Scotia is we have a death, the death happens, the funeral takes place and we say we move on. And we often move forward in some sense, but we don’t actually move forward, “said Fraser.

“What helps us is when we deal with our pain and get over the pain.”

During his interview with Global News earlier in the day, Cain echoed that need for support.

The community is in crisis, he said, and his concern now is what will happen in the days, weeks and months to come.

“What can we do to prevent this kind of thing from happening in the future? Who will be there to support our young people when they actually go to school and Mar Mar is not in that chair? Who will be there to support the mother when she is grieving? ” she asked.

“So if our country, our community, our province, our government could just not forget about us, just know that we are here and we are a united community and we are not wrong. We are not all bad. Most of us are looking to have a big positive change so that we can be together and make these changes happen. “

Cain said the past few days have been confusing for the community, but they are drawing strength from their spiritual ties and love for the young man to help them move forward.

“He is the Sea Sea King, and so he must rest. He passed away from royalty, so we are putting royalty to rest, ”he said.

– with an Alexa MacLean file