Bre’Asia Powell, 16, was laid to rest on Saturday (June 3) by family and friends after being gunned down in Atlanta following a graduation party last month. With a church full of those mourning the loss of Powell, rappers Lil Baby and Young Dro also attended the services and shared some advice to the youth of Atlanta.
“What I do want to say to the youth and like the younger generation — and I’m saying that as a ‘we’ because I’m with y’all — is we gotta change,” Lil Baby said in a video recorded by an attendee. “A lot of times, when people talk is more-so on the younger males, you know what I’m saying? But I’m speaking for the males and the females.”
“The females and males may think ‘this or that is cool’ but it’s not,” he said. “So the young boys doing this and that to prove it to the girls that they’re cool, when in the end, it’s not cool.” Urging the youth to know that getting into trouble isn’t worth their freedom, he continued, “The same girls, if that ain’t gonna be with you, they’re gonna be with the opps when you go to jail.”
Baby also declared that he wants to assist in addressing violence in Atlanta. “We gotta come up with a plan, and I’m here to help the planning,” he said, as Young Dro later added, “Get you some friends to push you to your potential, and you gotta listen to these adults.” See video below.
Powell was fatally shot, and a 16-year-old boy left wounded, around 2:30 AM on May 28 near Atlanta’s Benjamin E Mays High School. The unnamed teen was reportedly treated in the hospital following their attendance at a graduation celebration happening in the school’s parking lot.
Per outlet, both teens were transported by ambulance to a nearby hospital, where Powell was pronounced dead. The 16-year-old boy’s exact condition is unknown, although reports say he is in stable condition.
At this time, no arrests have been made, nor information released about a possible suspect.
“There were no prior altercations that led to this shooting. There was nothing that Bre’Asia did to cause this, to bring this about, to incite this,” said a family friend Davida Huntley to the news. “This was an unfortunate tragedy that has shaken a family and friends circle to its core.”
Andre Dickens, Atlanta Mayor and superintendent of Atlanta Public Schools, also shared that Powell was planning to work for the City of Atlanta before her death as part of its youth employment program. Atlanta Public Schools stated that support is available for anyone who may have been impacted by the tragic shooting. The school district also released a statement.
“According to Atlanta Police, two teenagers were shot during an unauthorized gathering at the end of the exiting driveway at Benjamin E. Mays High School, early Sunday morning,” it reads. “One is deceased and one is being treated at a local hospital. The gathering occurred after a graduation party at another location in the community was broken up by Atlanta Police a couple of hours earlier.”
“Please contact Atlanta Police for more information.”
May Bre’Asia Powell rest in peace.