A funeral service was held Thursday morning to remember 14-year-old Rashawn Williams, who was fatally stabbed in San Francisco's Mission District last week.
The funeral was held at San Francisco's Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption at 1111 Gough St. at 9 a.m., according to family members.
A memorial fund to help the family of "lil Shawnito" cover the cost of the funeral was created by friends and family at Gofundme.com/Rashawn-Williams and a Wells Fargo account to collect donations has also been set up under the Rashawn Williams Memorial Fund.
The funeral colors were white for life and green for Rashawn's favorite color, family member Sonia Castro wrote on the GoFundMe website. While the public was invited to attend the funeral, the family asked that photographs of the coffin not be posted on social media.
On the GoFundMe fundraising page, the family said Rashawn was stabbed while buying candy at a corner store and that he was "brought down by a senseless act of violence." San Francisco police said a male suspect stabbed Rashawn at about 6:50 p.m. on Sept. 2 at a market near the intersection of 25th and Folsom streets.
Police arrested a 14-year-old boy the following day in connection with the fatal stabbing. The name of the suspect is not being released because he is a juvenile. Police said the homicide does not appear to be random but they were not releasing any details about a possible motive.
Rashawn attended Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory school as a freshman, the school's assistant principal for student life, Christine Buell, said.
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According to school officials, Rashawn was stabbed after entering the convenience store with a member of his family. Rashawn's mother transported him to California Pacific Medical Center's St. Luke's Campus and paramedics transported him from there to San Francisco General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police said.
Rashawn entered the private Catholic high school with a 4.0 GPA from Buena Vista Horace Mann K-8 school and was a member of the freshman football team, according to Buell.
Members of the community placed flowers, candles and balloons outside the market where Rashawn was stabbed and, as of this morning, $18,440 had been raised through GoFundMe to help with funeral costs since his death. According to a statement from Rashawn's family on the fundraising site, the family is hoping to raise $20,000 and is asking the community to make donations and to "help us through whatever means possible to stamp out atrocities like this in the future."
