(Cashmere Elijah Parker. Photo Credit: Daily mail)
A 7-year-old boy who lost his life when a firework sparked an apartment fire in North Carolina was laid to rest in a small white casket during an emotional funeral service.
Cashmere Elijah Parker, a first-grade student, died at Ashbrooke Apartments on Independence Day, leaving the Dunn community in mourning.
A funeral was held on Tuesday at Central Baptist Church’s Chapel, where he was buried, with family, friends and teachers gathering to pay tribute to him.
Principal Beth Elmore recalled that Cashmere loved singing gospel songs, saying his voice would forever echo through the school.
She said he made those around him better people, telling mourners to fly high and that his song would forever echo through the halls of Plain View.
She added that he serves as a reminder to hug loved ones tighter, smile bigger, sing louder, ask more questions, and care more deeply.
Cashmere’s mother, Gloria Parker, spoke of her devastation, saying the pain of losing a child is something only another grieving parent could understand.
She revealed she was already grieving the loss of her own mother three years earlier, and that this new loss was compounding her heartbreak.
She reportedly watched her son’s final moments captured on CCTV footage from inside their apartment, which showed him knocking on doors and windows, screaming for help.
Police said that prior to the tragedy, Cashmere and his father had already gone to bed.
Investigators determined the firework involved was a “cake style” explosive designed to fire multiple rounds, but that it malfunctioned and began shooting horizontally instead.
According to a Dunn Police Department press release, the device had not been properly stabilised, causing projectiles to travel roughly 100 feet before striking the Parker family’s apartment through a window and igniting a fire inside.
Officials said 35-year-old Brittany Armstrong had set off the illegal firework that struck the apartment where Cashmere was sleeping.
She was subsequently arrested and charged with involuntary manslaughter.
A GoFundMe campaign was launched to help cover funeral costs and has raised more than $20,000 so far.
The fundraiser appeals to the community, friends, neighbours and anyone touched by the tragedy to rally around the family during this difficult period, noting that every donation, no matter how small, would help ease their financial burden as they grieve.
Dunn Police Chief Timothy Gay said at a press conference on July 7 that Armstrong was arrested in Fayetteville after failing to turn herself in.
She appeared in court on July 8, with her next court date scheduled for July 28.