The first question that comes up when talking about this tragedy is “Why?” Why was this child walking the streets of Oak Cliff in the middle of the night?

So let’s get this out of the way. No, 13-year-old Deaudray Edwards, from all reports, wasn’t behaving in a way that is safe for a junior high student to behave. He was staying at a hotel with “teenage friends,” according to a police report. He was walking to the store on Westmoreland in Oak Cliff at 2:30 in the morning. He reportedly was carrying a gun.

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Indeed, his mother recently moved him to Lake Highlands, where he could attend Forest Meadow Junior High. She hoped to separate him from “the bad influences at home,” explains a FMJH coach in an email to the Forest Meadow community.

At his new school, Deaudray was #20 on the football team, according to Coach Grey, and he had a great season.

But the weekend after football ended he returned to Oak Cliff, Grey explains. There, while staying at a hotel and walking to the store, he was shot in the head and pronounced dead upon his arrival at Methodist Hospital.

Now his family is suffering immensely and Deaudray’s mother, who according to Coach Grey worked two jobs up until the tragedy, is in dire need of help.

As they do when any tragedy occurs, Lake Highlands families and organizations have responded with compassion and support.

Arms of Hope Family Outreach Center in Lake Highlands reached out to the family to determine specific needs. Two teenagers, an 18-year old boy and a 17-year-old girl are in need of funeral clothes. A baby, born to Deaudray’s sister the same day Deaudray died, is in need of baby clothing, diapers, formula and food.

The funeral is planned for this Friday.

Donations can be left on the 3rd Floor of Highland Oaks Church of Christ at 10805 Walnut Hill Lane, 8 a.m.- until noon Wednesday.

If you have any specific questions regarding donations, please contact Josie at the Arms of Hope Family Outreach Center, jlemell@armsofhope.org.