Gunfire in East Cleveland at rapper’s funeral
 |
| Police and television news crews on scene following gunfire at funeral service for slain rapper |
No reported injury but safety
concerns intensify as mayor-council fiscal standoff has slashed police presence
A
gunman fired a shot into a Hayden Avenue church in East Cleveland this morning
during the funeral for rapper Cedric Morgan. No one was injured but the police
put nearby Chambers Elementary School on lockdown to prevent anyone from
entering the school.
The
24-year old Morgan, who performed under the name Lil Ced, was shot and killed
in front of his home on East 142 St in East Cleveland on Feb. 20.
The
shootings will undoubtedly lead to heightened tensions among city residents.
The city’s struggles to deal with its state of fiscal emergency as declared in
October by the State Auditor, has led to disputed cutbacks in the safety
budget. The city council slashed the safety budget by more than one million
dollars, leading the city administration to reduce police presence on city
streets by more than 70 percent.
The
mayor contends the council cut the safety budget needlessly. The city’s leading
social action organization, Northeast Ohio Alliance for Hope [NOAH], decided at
a meeting earlier this week to step up pressure on council to restore the
budget cuts.
NOAH
members have been circulating petitions and encouraging citizens to assemble
this coming Tuesday at City Hall, 14308 Euclid Avenue, where a rally in support
of returning police to the streets will take place. Organizers then hope to
pack council’s cramped chambers and press the legislators to “do the right
thing”.
Mayor
Norton was inside the church at the funeral when the shots rang out. Omega
Baptist Church, at 1355 Hayden Ave., is only a few blocks from where Morgan’s
murder took place.
The lockdown at Chambers School has been lifted.
BREAKING NEWS ELSEWHERE:
BREAKING NEWS ELSEWHERE:
| Gov. Rick Snyder of Michigan announced today that the city of Detroit is so snarled in financial woes that the state must appoint an emergency manager to lead it out of disaster. |
| The announcement was made in a town-hall-style meeting that was broadcast live on local television stations across the city. |
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