Hundreds attend vigil for man shot, killed outside Seattle church
Candlelight vigil held tonight for Seattle Church shooting victim
Police are still looking for the suspect who shot and killed a man walking into a church with his family Thursday night. A community candlelight vigil at Pursuit Seattle will be held Sunday at 9pm. The public is being invited to pray and remember the life of shooting victim Lebron Givaun.
SEATTLE - Hundreds turned out to remember "LeBron Givaun", also known as Christopher "LeBron" Castleberry on Sunday night during a vigil outside Pursuit NW Church in the University District.
LeBron was shot and killed near the steps of his church on Thursday evening while attending a youth BBQ with his wife and young son. Police believe it was a targeted shooting.
His family, including his mom and wife, attended Sunday's church services and 9 p.m. vigil. The pastor says the church will be there to support his family during this difficult time.
The 28-year-old was gunned down on Thursday during the BBQ, which started at around 7 p.m. The shooting was witnessed by a number of young church members.
"It broke my heart. It broke everybody else’s heart," said Isaiah Resendez, who attends Pursuit Church.
"My nephew goes to church here, and he was in the middle of it all. That’s the other thing. I am supporting my nephew as well, because he needs all the support right now," said Kenny Fields, another Pursuit Church member.
"It’s beautiful to see us all come together, stand together as a community, even in a tragic time when most people would be scared to come to a place like this," said Resendez.
"Hopefully they will catch the person that did it and put them in custody. So you just pray. If you are a praying person, pray for every single person out there. They need it," said Fields.
SPD says a white Hyundai Elantra was sued in the shooting. Officers later found it on fire just two miles west of the church.
"They chose to target an individual who was with his wife and child attending a church event in broad daylight, and then took the car to another church parking lot and lit it on fire. They were trying to send a message, ‘No place is safe. We own this city. It doesn’t matter if someone is going to church with their family. We can take them out’," said Lead Pastor Russell Johnson, Pursuit Church.
The church is offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.
"It’s great to see the support for the poor gentleman that passed away, but we need the support to change policy and make the city safer again," said Joe Bannecker, a neighbor.
A fundraiser is also underway to help the family.
"God is close to the broken-hearted, so we wanted to be the hands and feet of God extended in this circumstance," said Johnson.
Johnson went on to say that he would like to see a statement put out by the city's elected officials regarding the shooting and says he's been disappointed so far that they haven't done so.
As for the investigation, police have said they are still looking for leads as to who the suspect might be. Investigators had interviewed a number of witnesses following the shooting on Thursday evening and detectives were reportedly working on trying to compile a suspect description heading into the weekend.
The Source: Information in this story came from the Seattle Police Department and original reporting by FOX 13 Seattle.
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