14 Year Old Murdered at Home!

[Horace Hogg]

Standing in a huddle this afternoon, 14-year-old Michael Keel's family
and friends struggled to choose the perfect design for a memorial to the
slain seventh grader. One, featuring an open Bible and hearts, stood
out.
That, the group decided, would best represent the Keel family's
spirituality and the love the large household - including Michael Keel's
seven brothers and two sisters - shared.
But it still needed something.
"Make sure you do a basketball," Mel Keel, the victim's uncle, told the
artist. "It's gotta have a basketball."
"And a No. 10," interjected neighbor Robert Perez. "He was No. 10."
Michael Keel, a local basketball standout who dreamed of playing in the
pros, was killed early yesterday when he answered the incessant knocking
at the front door of his family's home in the 2600 block of N. Eighth
Street. He was shot in the face and chest.
Philadelphia police today arrested Raymond Herbert, 19, and charged him
with Michael Keel's murder. Herbert lives in the 2500 block of
Hutchinson Street, about 3/10 of a mile from the Keel home. Some
neighbors said the shooting may have been triggered over a $20 debt one
of Keel's brothers owed to Herbert.
The senseless crime angered many in this North Philadelphia
neighborhood.
Why Michael?
Why the good kid?
"They have Kobe Bryant. They have Michael Jordan," neighbor Bernice
Adams said. "Well, we had our own superstar. His name was Michael Keel."
Overnight, a memorial to Michael Keel blossomed: basketball trophies,
flowers, candles, and dozens of stuffed animals were piled next to the
door where Michael Keel was fatally wounded. Children had decorated
broken white tiles - someone's curbside trash - with messages like,
"R.I.P." and "Always missing you," and scattered them amongst the
offerings. Keel's white sneakers, covered with names written in black
marker, and a Bible centered the makeshift monument.
"If we're not safe in our homes, we're not safe in our streets," said
Annie L. Henderson, a co-block captain.
Around 10 a.m. today, adults and teenagers with gloved hands and rakes
began clearing an overgrown lot near Michael Keel's home, determined to
construct a more permanent memorial to him. They filled dozens of
garbage bags with leaves and trash, cut down wild trees, then dumped the
mess into the middle of the street, making it impossible for traffic to
pass. That, they said, was the only way to get city officials to notice
them.
"They ignore us. They've been doing it to us for years," Adams said.
"Our children are dying, and they just want our votes. ... What we
really need is a safe haven for our children."
The efforts - so spontaneous, so heart-felt - drew friends and
strangers. Tears ran down Mel Keel's face when he thanked everyone for
their efforts.
Earlier that day, Mel Keel said, he'd seen a teenager spray painting
Michael's name on a wall and even though he is against graffiti, he
appreciated the sentiment.
"Something like this has never happened to me and I'm totally confused,"
Mel Keel said. "How could this happen to this kid? This kid who had a
future in front of him?"
Michael Keel, a student at James Elverson Middle School, was also called
"Booda," a childhood nickname no one remembers the origins of. He'd
chosen "10" as his team number, and his habit of wearing his basketball
jersey almost every day also earned him the double-digit moniker.
"I don't know why he didn't have 13. That was his shoe size," Perez
joked. "Or maybe he thought he was going to be 10 feet tall."
On the court, he seemed to be that big. Already topping 6 feet, Michael
Keel towered over his oldest brother, 22-year-old Ryan Keel, and seemed
poised to grow even more. He was already a champion ballplayer, and Ryan
Keel proudly showed off his brother's last trophy, the Francisville
Basketball Association's 14 and under 2003 championship trophy.
"He beat the buzzer and hit a 3," Ryan Keel remembered proudly. "He won
the game."
Still, for his size, he was a gentle giant, the quiet one who would
stand off to the side and dribble a basketball while the rest of the
neighborhood children chattered and engaged in horseplay.
Around 5 a.m. yesterday, someone began pounding on the front door of the
Keel family's home. Neighbors said they heard the knocking, and someone
calling out for one of Michael's brother. What happened next is still
unclear.
Neighbors speculate that Michael, like them, was roused from a deep
sleep by the pounding and he groggily opened the door on instinct. The
next thing they heard were five gunshots, and then an ambulance arriving
to save the dying teenager.

[Martin H. Booda]

In article <14930-3F8...@storefull-2137.public.lawson.webtv.net>,

Horace Hogg <Razerb...@webtv.net> wrote:
>Michael Keel, a student at James Elverson Middle School, was also called
>"Booda," a childhood nickname no one remembers the origins of.

Germany, via Pennsylvania (at least in my case).

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