Hopewell community plans events this week to honor memory of child killed in drive-by shooting

Bill Atkinson, The Progress-Index
·4 min read
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HOPEWELL — An anti-violence march and a candlelight vigil are planned for this week as the community continues to mourn a little girl killed in a reported drive-by shooting over the weekend.

A GoFundMe account set up to help cover the final expenses for P'aris Mi-Unique Angel Moore's family has raised more than $13,000 in the two days since it was started, quickly eclipsing its target goal of $10,000.

P'aris Moore, 8, was shot to death Dec. 30, 2022 as she played in the front yard of her Hopewell residence. Police believe she was the victim of a drive-by shooting.
P'aris Moore, 8, was shot to death Dec. 30, 2022 as she played in the front yard of her Hopewell residence. Police believe she was the victim of a drive-by shooting.

P'aris, a week shy of her ninth birthday, was shot once in the chest Dec. 30 as she played in the front yard of her residence on Freeman Street in Hopewell's Arlington area. She later died at TriCities Hospital in Hopewell of her injury.

She was Hopewell's ninth and final homicide victim of 2022.

Police have not established a motive for the shooting. Authorities believe the shooter may have been riding in a light-colored four-door sedan with tinted windows that was seen speeding away from the area around the time of the shooting.

Community members have organized a "March to Stop Gun Violence" at 6 p.m. Monday beginning at Harry E. James Elementary School where the child was a second-grader. Participants will march from Harry E. James to Carter G. Woodson Middle School on Winston Churchill Drive.

The next night, a candlelight vigil will be held at 5 p.m. in the 1700 block of Carolina Avenue, close to where P'aris was killed.

Remembrances of the little girl flooded social media over the weekend.

"The outrage we all feel about this precious little girl is eating at everyone," Tami Lee posted on the Hopewell Va. Issues Facebook page. "I have no words but that I’m praying for the family."

One person wrote that they felt "guilty that I get to kiss and hug my baby good night while there is a local mother struggling to even breathe right now because her baby was so selfishly taken from her. And for what? Nothing but some wannabe thug running around shooting up houses."

"No child deserved this and there is no family that deserved this," police chief A.J. Starke wrote. "Please come forward and help us solve this senseless crime. Please!"

In a memo to Hopewell Public Schools staff that was later posted on Facebook, school superintendent Dr. Melody Hackney called P’aris “a precious angel” and encouraged everyone to rally around her family, her teachers and her classmates in the “difficult days ahead.

“And while I know we are all absolutely heartbroken as we begin to mourn her life and death, may our only New Year's resolution for 2023 be justice for this sweet baby and a community commitment and plan to ensure this never happens again,” Hackney wrote.

The GoFundMe account for the child's family was established by Hopewell councilor Dominic Holloway, who wrote, "P’aris passed to senseless gun violence as an innocent bystander."

By midnight Monday, $13,133 had been raised, surpassing the goal of $10,000. The 235 donations included one of $3,000 from Hopewell native TreVeyon Henderson, a high-school football standout and now a star at Ohio State.

Funeral arrangements for P'aris have not been announced.

Hopewell City Council has called a special meeting for 6:30 p.m. Thursday to discuss the city's participation in the nationwide Group Violence Intervention program, something that Hopewell's state legislators said last month they want to see brought here in light of the increasing gun violence.

More:Delegate, senator want to see 'proven' anti-violence initiative come to Hopewell

The child's death is reminiscent of a fatal drive-by shooting three years ago in Hopewell that also happened during the holiday season. In that one, Ashley Nicole Berry, a lieutenant with the Richmond Fire Department, was killed as she shielded her son from a hail of gunfire on Thanksgiving night of 2019 on Sunnyside Avenue.

More:Hopewell Police look for answers in unsolved Thanksgiving night murder of a Richmond Fire official

First shooting of the new year

As police continue to investigate the youngster's murder, the city reported its first shooting victim of 2023.

A man was found Sunday night shot in the face and shoulder near the intersection of Granby Street and Courthouse Road, police said in an email. The victim was taken to TriCities Hospital in Hopewell and later airlifted to Chippenham Medical Center in Richmond. His wounds are considered life-threatening.

Police said the man was shot sometime before 7:30 p.m. Sunday.

Anyone who has information about either Sunday's shooting or P'aris' death is asked to contact Hopewell Police at (804) 541-2284 or Crime Solvers at (804) 541-2202. That information can also be shared through the P3Tips mobile app.

More:Hopewell residents want better communication from police, more aggressive prosecution

Bill Atkinson (he/him/his) is an award-winning journalist who covers breaking news, government and politics. Reach him at batkinson@progress-index.com or on Twitter at @BAtkinson_PI.

This article originally appeared on The Progress-Index: Hopewell plans events to mourn shooting death of little girl