WASHINGTON — The coach of a 14-year-old football player gunned down Monday night says the teen had just recovered from being shot weeks before, and was trying his best to escape the environment he had grown up in.
Antione Manning, 14, was shot and killed Monday in the 2600 block of Birney Place just before 8:45 p.m., according to the DC Police. His football coach, Michael Brown Sr., said everyone who knew Manning is heartbroken, and that like many other boys his age, he loved sports, especially football.
“This kid had a scholarship to go to a private school to play football," Brown said, fighting tears. "We didn't even have a parent to fill out his paperwork to get him enrolled at school, but we want him to make it? Like, these are the things we go through in the inner city with our kids."
Brown said Manning lived in Barry Farms. Police haven’t identified a shooter, or a motive.
“These kids have stories behind them," Brown said. "We have to talk to our kids. He has to go back to his reality, and sometimes that home reality is not what's best for our kids."
DC Police Chief Robert Contee III said investigators believe Manning may have been targeted for unknown reasons.
"I've been talking about this and talking about this and talking about this for months now -- about how our young people are showing up either as victims or suspects in a lot of these crimes," Contee said Monday night after the shooting. "This family should not be grieving the loss of a 14-year-old child. Our goal is to bring this case to closure, to bring some sense of closure to this family. It will never bring back this young man, and that's something we have to wrestle with as a community."
Teamwork was instilled in Manning through sports Brown said. He loved football, his coaches and teammates. Coach Brown said when their season came to an end, because Manning dropped the game-winning pass, Manning was sad he let down his team. But it was the reality of their season ending and him having to go home that left the teen in tears for two days.
“He was crying because he knew this was over for us," Brown said. "Like that was the end of us traveling, us going into these places, of him getting his own bed, of him getting to eat whatever he wanted, do whatever he wanted and not get in trouble for or not be blamed or judged."
Now, Brown says he hopes Manning's death will be the "enough is enough" final straw for his community to step up.
“Somebody gotta stand up and say, 'stop,'" Brown said. "Somebody. It's a lot of big homies in these neighborhoods. It’s a lot of men in these neighborhoods man. Just holla at your little homies man."
Police have not released any further details on the case.
"I just want to let him know I loved him," Manning's coach said of his beloved player. "You lived your life. We made sure you had fun and enjoyed your time on this Earth."
Correction: An earlier version of this story spelled Antione Manning's name as Antwon.