PHILADELPHIA — A 10-year-old New Jersey boy who was shot at a high school football game last week died Wednesday, shortly before the game was resumed at the home field of the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles, where an announcer proclaimed that “acts of violence do not win.”
Micah Tennant was shot in the neck Friday during a playoff game between Pleasantville and Camden. He died Wednesday from his wounds, Atlantic County Prosecutor Damon Tyner said.
Charges against the suspected gunman have been upgraded to murder. He also faces two counts of attempted murder and weapons charges.
“We would like to express our sincere condolences to the Tennant family on the tragic passing of Micah,” the prosecutor wrote in a news release posted on his office’s web site. “Words at this time seem so insufficient to portray the anger and outrage that our community feels regarding his loss. However, his spirit will live on in so many people that he inspired.”
A 27-year-old man was shot Friday, and a 15-year-old boy was grazed. Six men have been charged, including the man shot.
The game between Pleasantville High School and Camden High is being played at Lincoln Financial Field. The Eagles offered up their stadium to play out the remaining 17 minutes.
The game was to be streamed on NJ.com.
The boy’s mother, Angela Tennant, eulogized him Wednesday in a Facebook post, using his nickname, “Dew.”
“(Shout out) to everyone giving Dew all this love!” she wrote. “Every day I talk in his ear and say, ‘Dew, you’re so loved and so famous.’”
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy also mourned the boy’s death.
“No child deserves to have their promising life cut short, especially by indiscriminate and senseless gun violence,” the Democratic governor said. “No parent deserves to bury their child. We will hold Dew’s memory close, and we will remember his name, as we continue our work to make New Jersey safer for all of our families.”
Eagles players and coached posed for photos with the high school players before the game was resumed Wednesday afternoon in a largely empty stadium; the game was closed to the general public.
As AC/DC’s “For Those About To Rock” blared from the stadium speakers, both teams sprinted onto the field through the same smoke-lined corridor that the Eagles players use to enter the field for NFL games.
Both teams gathered silently at midfield, shaking hands and standing silently as the 10-year-old was memorialized.
“We join with Micha’s family to demonstrate that acts of violence do not win,” the stadium’s public address announcer said.
