Friends wear their hearts on their sleeves by donning sweatshirts in memory of Gray. (Gregory P. Mango)
Gray was shot 7 times after police said he pulled a gun on officers in Flatbush, Brooklyn. (
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Kimani Gray’s mother, Carol Gray, arrives at the wake for her son in Brooklyn today. (Gregory P. Mango)
Hundreds of family and friends filtered through a Flatlands funeral home today to remember Kimani Gray, the teen gangbanger fatally shot by cops earlier this month.
“I came to show my respects to his family,” said 17-year-old Andrew Anderson, who was walking out of the church and said he knew Gray for years. “He was my friend and I miss him.”
Mourners were wearing hooded sweatshirts and T-shirts with messages paying tribute to Gray, known fondly as “Kiki.”
One common message had the Twitter hashtag “#ForeverKiki.”
They left messages of remembrance on a 10-foot banner hanging across the street with the message “In Loving Memory Kimani Gray. We Love You.”
Mounted police kept a respectful distance around the corner from the emotional scene at Caribe Funeral Home and Floral Studio.
Gray’s death prompted a riot and looting, as mourners attending a series of vigils in the East Flatbush neighborhood ran amok in the days after his death.
The high school youth was gunned down after he allegedly squared off with undercover cops for smoking pot outside a party. Gray, 16, was shot seven times after cops said he pointed a revolver at them
His funeral will be held at 9 a.m. on Saturday at the St. Catherine of Genoa Roman Catholic Church in East Flatbush.