Maryland funeral home owner kills pallbearer at funeral for 10-year-old, police say
A Maryland funeral home owner is accused of killing a pallbearer at a funeral service for a child this week.
The Prince Georgeās County Police Department claims Wilson Chavis gunned down a rival funeral service operator Tuesday afternoon. The victim, 30-year-old Ronald Steven Banks of Washington, D.C., was helping carry the casket of a 10-year-old girl when he was killed.
Cops said Chavis confronted Banks and another person while the burial was getting underway at Washington National Cemetery.
āThose individuals are affiliated with a second funeral service company with which Chavis has a long-standing business dispute,ā police claimed.
The alleged shooterās company was handling the service. Several people attending the funeral reportedly became upset with Chavis when he addressed his rivals. Thatās when cops say he killed Banks and fired a second shot grazing a female attendee. The suspect fled in his car, but was quickly apprehended by authorities.
āIām so traumatized that this happened at my daughterās burial site,ā grieving mother Antionette Belk told NBC News4. āItās trauma after trauma.ā
Belk claims Chavis yelled āI own this bodyā and spat on a preacher before opening fire. The preacher was the dead childās uncle. According to Belk, her family had ānothing to do withā the parties involved in the conflict at her daughterās funeral service.
News4 reports the girl was killed last month when a bullet hit her familyās car while they were returning from a Motherās Day celebration in Washington D.C. Police believe the killing was unintentional.
Charges against Chavis include first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder.