BY MIKE FUHRMAN
Zion Syncere Wilder’s friends and family members laughed and cried, rejoiced, and cried some more on Saturday afternoon as they celebrated his life and tried to make sense of the senseless gun violence that claimed his life.
Though they took comfort in the promise of eternal life in God’s kingdom, the mourners also expressed the anger, sadness and loneliness they have felt since the 19-year-old was murdered two weeks ago.
Zion, who was a senior at Statesville High and Northview Academy, was shot and killed on March 15 when a group of individuals opened fire on a home on Goldsboro Avenue in Statesville. Another 15-year-old who was inside the house was also critically injured. Three suspects are jailed on murder and attempted murder charges following an investigation by the Statesville Police Department.
During Saturday’s service in the chapel at Rutledge & Bigham Funeral Home, Zion was remembered as a sweet baby who was spoiled by his aunt and adored by his grandmother. He grew up to be a “jokester” who was smart and had a quick wit. There is no doubt that his ever-present smile will live on in the memories of those who loved him.
Zion’s great uncle decried the gun violence that ended the young man’s life, and he urged the young people in attendance to end the cycle that also claimed his two brothers. Teens and young adults, he said, should be thinking about college and raising their own children.
Whatever is fueling the violence “is not worth it,” he said. “We are killing ourselves. … Throw the guns away. Throw them away.”
Bishop Jamie Mack told the crowd that he was “mad” about the loss of his 19-year-old cousin, tying the violence in the community to teens having babies and then disrespecting their own mothers.
Not one to mince his words, Bishop-Elect Oliver L. Wilder said community meetings and marches are not going to solve this crisis.
Young people need to be taught the difference between right and wrong, and their parents must make them abide by rules and hold their children accountable, Wilder said
He offered a path forward that starts with fathers being disciplinarians and positive role models for their sons. When that is not possible, the mothers need to seek out help from other men in the community.
“Take them to church,” Wilder said. “The deacons aren’t scared of them.”
Speaking directly to the teens and young adults, Wilder said they would have to choose which team they are on. Thirty years ago, he gave his life to God “after I realized I was on the wrong side.”
“He don’t have gangs. He has soldiers,” Wilder said, adding that there’s no initiation required to join God’s army. “I ain’t got to take no whoopin’ (to join) because I’m an OG already.”
Rutledge & Bigham CEO Bernardeane Moton also implored the young people to “stop the shooting, stop the killing.”
Gesturing to the Wilder family, she asked the teens and young adults in the audience — and in the community — to think about their own families and the pain caused by the senseless violence and find a different way.
“Unless you’ve had to sit on the front row, you don’t know,” she said. “Your moms, your dads, your grandparents, your aunties — they don’t want to sit on the front row anymore.”