The body of Jordan Davis, a 17-year-old Florida high school student who was shot and killed while sitting in the backseat of an SUV, reportedly after an argument about his music being too loud, will be laid to rest this today in Marietta.
Davis’s funeral will take place at noon near the Georgia home of his mother. His alleged killer, Michael Dunn, a 45-year-old white male gun collector, is awaiting trial in Jacksonville, Fla., and has pleaded not guilty.
“Michael David Dunn was charged with capital felony murder and three counts of attempted murder,” Jacksonville Florida Sheriff’s Public Information Officer Shannon Hartley told BlackAmericaWeb.com. Dunn was arrested on Saturday and is not eligible for bond, according to jail records.
Authorities said Dunn got into an argument with Davis after asking the teen to turn the music in his SUV down at a service station. “And for whatever reason, the suspect produced a weapon and started firing into the vehicle,” Jacksonville Sheriff Lt. Rob Schoonover said during a press conference.
Dunn fired his weapon at least eight times, Schoonover said.
A viewing was held for Davis earlier in the week at the Hardage-Giddens Funeral Home in Mandarin area of Jacksonville, which was attended by his father and many of his Wolfson High School classmates according to NBC affiliate WTLV.
“He was always smiling. You know, he had a big, million-dollar smile, always smiling and, you know, just seeing him with his mouth closed, it’s sad,” Dunn’s friend of three years, Maurice Ivory, told WTLV.
Davis was looking forward to joining the Marine Corps after graduation, the station reported.
Dunn’s legal team will reportedly be using Florida’s controversial “Stand Your Ground Law” to defend Dunn. The law was invoked by George Zimmerman who stands accused of second-degree murder for killing 17 year old Trayvon Martin in February.
Davis’s family received friends and family on Friday from 6–9 pm at West Cobb Funeral Home and Crematory.
Lucia McBath, Davis’s mother, has said she does not want the shooting labeled a hate crime, because she doesn’t believe the designation would best honor her son’s memory.
“We don’t know where he was or what kind of dark place he was in at that moment but something snapped in that man,” McBath said of Dunn. “Something snapped in him, so we are not looking at it as the hate crime because that’s not going to honor Jordan.”
A foundation will be created by his parents for at risk students who suffer from tragedies, according to the Florida Times Union.
Funeral Services will be held at noon at Trinity Chapel Church of God, 4665 Macland Road, in Powder Springs. Jordan will lie in state at the church one hour prior to the service. Interment will follow at Kennesaw Memorial Park, in Marietta, according to the West Cobb Funeral Home’s website.
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