Age 5 Boy Tragically Killed Day After Baptism
On August 14th, 5 year old LaVonte’e Williams of Smyrna, Tennessee made a big decision that many adults struggle with; he decided to give his life to the Lord and follow in believer’s baptism.
“He was so excited on that Sunday,” Bishop Belita McMurry-Fite of Heaven’s View Baptist Church in Nashville, Tennessee told WKRN.
“And when it came time for him to get baptized he was ok, and then the water was little bit cold and it kind of got to him, so he kind of teared up a little bit but then he got ok and once he got his baptismal certificates and church member certificate, he was excited and a smile was on his face like none other.”
Since this was no light task, McMurry-Fite told The Christian Post how important it is for the children to know the importance of being baptized.
“I was very honored to have been able to baptize him. I’m a pastor that doesn’t just baptize children just because children want to get baptized,” she said.
“It’s important to me to know that they know who God is and for them to know why they are doing what they’re doing; why do they want to get baptized.”
McMurry-Fite shared that little LaVonte’e ran up to her before his baptism and spoke five words that would make any pastor’s soul rejoice, “I want to be saved.”
After such an important event, no one could imagine LaVonte’e’s life being cut short.
On August 15th, police officers were called to Lee Victory Recreation Park’s basketball court where LaVonte’e was fatally injured after being shot. He later died of his injuries at Stonecrest Medical Center, according to The Christian Post.
It was later reported that LaVonte’e had found a gun that was in his father’s backpack leading to the tragic incident.
While LaVonte’e was only on this Earth for 5 years, he left a big impact on those who knew him.
“LaVonte’e was a child who loved God,” McMurry-Fite recalled. “He loved working in the church [and] doing things in the church that made him happy.
“He would sing. He would help take up offerings in the church. He would have times where he would play and where he would intermingle with the children in our church body. He was just a wonderful, well-rounded young man.”
While his family has asked for privacy at this time, McMurry-Fite reflects on the little boy’s life.
He was “a young man that just started life, but God had him on assignment,” she said. “And we all are, some are short, some are longer. But to look at his life and to get something from him, we can see the peace of God. And I can honestly say that I saw that in him each time.”
McMurry-Fite told The Christian Post that the only way she is able to cope with LaVonte’e’s loss is through “the grace of God.”
“I had no idea that he would leave the next day. But I knew that there was something divine that was taking place that day with LaVonte’e,” she said.
Though it will take a long time for LaVonte’e’s loved ones to heal, there is comfort in knowing that this young man decided to give his life to the Lord the day prior. For it is written in Psalm 116:15 ESV, “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.”
Thoughts and prayers go to the William’s family and their friends, and one can only hope that God will give them the strength to heal from this tragedy.
