10-year-old Memphis boy killed in drive-by shooting remembered as 'sweet, caring'

As Memphis police search for who killed a 10-year-old boy and injured his 12-year-old  brother in a drive-by shooting Monday night, friends of the boy killed said they are hurting over the news of his death. 

And police said they now believe people in three different cars took part in the shooting that killed the boy.

Richard Jordan III loved to play football and to be around his family, friends said Tuesday.

"He was sweet, caring and loved to be around other children and his family, " said his youth football coach, Alan Thornton. "He was a real innocent kid.''

The shooting happened around 4:38 p.m. near the intersection of Airways and Ketchum. Shots were fired into a black Porsche Cayenne SUV that held Richard and four other people inside.

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Police said Tuesday afternoon that investigators now believe people in three separate vehicles drove past the Porsche at the intersection and fired multiple shots into it.

All three suspect vehicles fled the area eastbound on Ketchum, the department wrote on Facebook. The vehicles were described as a gold Chevrolet Malibu, a black Chrysler 300, and a grey sedan.

The department urged people to call police if they see vehicles with bullet damage, in the belief that the suspects in different vehicles might have shot one another's vehicles while firing at the SUV, said police spokesman Louis C. Brownlee. 

He said police don't yet know the motive for the shooting and said the information is preliminary as the investigation continues.

The driver of the SUV drove for help at the nearby Airways police station at 2234 Truitt Street near the old Defense Depot.

Richard along with his mother and older brother were injured. His brother was later upgraded to stable condition and his mother was non-critical, police said. 

Richard was taken to the hospital where he died.

"He was a sweet child and this is a sad thing that happened to him," said Thornton, who coached the South Memphis Gators, the team Richard played on for the last five years.

"He loved football and played left tackle on offense and defensive tackle," Thornton said.

He said Richard — or "Little Richard" as everyone called him — attended Alton Elementary.

"These killings of our babies has got to stop," Thornton said. 

At the vigil Tuesday night at Riverview Community Center, family friend Robert Holmes sang "Amazing Grace" in a tenor voice, standing next to an arrangement of tea lights on the pavement that spelled out "RIP Lil Richard." A small group of people in the circle began to wail and for a terrifying instant a candle caught a woman's clothes on fire, but it was quickly beaten out. 

Then the boy's 16-year-old sister, Dijonnaise Jordan, stepped forward to the center of the circle, distraught. "I just want to say I love him so much and I want to get a second chance to say I love you," she said between sobs. "And I wish you was here ... You always got on my nerves but that didn't mean nothing. I just want you to come back." 

Earlier, the boy's father, Richard Jordan Jr., 43, pleaded for the killers to turn themselves in. "When you killed my little son, you killed God, man."

The boy's mother, Rosalind Shields, came to the vigil but didn't speak in public.

About 100 people came to the vigil, including many small children. Friends took up donations to help pay for the burial. 

The death of Richard follows the fatal shooting Friday of 1-year-old Robin Keefer, who police said was killed accidentally by a 3-year-old sibling who got hold of a gun. 

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Shawn Moore, 25, has been charged with counts including criminally negligent homicide for allegedly leaving the gun where the child could reach it. 

The death of Richard and 1-year-old Robin brings the number of children and teenagers slain in Memphis this year to at least 14.

In September, three children were killed in back-to-back shootings.

Devin Johnson, 12, was shot once in the head Sept. 30 at his family's home in the 2400 block of Dana Drive in North Memphis. His sister's boyfriend was charged in his death, police said. 

Police said 3-year-old Anthonisha Edwards was beaten to death on Sept. 30 by her mother's common-law husband as punishment for getting too many juices, according to an arrest affidavit.

A 14-year-old boy, whose name has not been released by police, was also killed Sept. 30 after a shooting in the 800 block of Kerr Avenue. 

These three shootings, followed the fatal shootings in August of DeAundre Shannon, 8, and Gavin Settles, 4. Police said the boys were killed when they accidentally shot themselves after finding guns in their homes. The fathers of both boys were charged in their deaths. 

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No arrests have been made in Richard's slaying. Anyone with information is asked to call CrimeStoppers at 901-528-2274.

Memphis Homicide Tracker - The Commercial Appeal