Loved ones gather for funeral of Hartford 12-year-old killed in drive-by shooting

HARTFORD, CT (WFSB) - Funeral services were held today for Se’Cret Pierce, the 12-year-old girl who was killed in the crossfire of a drive-by shooting last month.

Se’Cret was sitting in a parked car on Huntington Street in Hartford when she was hit by gunfire on April 20.

A shooter in another vehicle sped by and opened fire, police said.

Purple and black were Se’Cret’s favorite colors.

Today, a sea of purple filled the First Cathedral in Bloomfield in her honor.

Visitation services began at the First Cathedral at 11 a.m.

“She’s loved, she’s missed already,” said Azenia Williams, Se’Cret’s aunt. “This is a real trying time for all of us. Se’Cret was 12. I mean, who would have thought that this could happen to her?”

Family, friends, and community members grieved her young life which was cut short.

“It’s hurtful. That’s all I can say. It’s hurtful. And then you see the little girl’s body in the casket. That’s even more painful. So our hearts go out to her family,” said Rev. Henry Brown for Mothers United Against Violence.

“That sadness will be there for decades. It will never surrender itself,” added Rev. Sam Saylor, Se’Cret’s grandfather.

Police say the drive-by shooting was a targeted attack on two men,18-year-old Jeremy Francis, 23-year-old Travis Roberts, and a teenage boy.

“She’s just a kid, just a kid. At the end of the day, she should have made it home like everybody else,” said Cassondra Collier, Commander, Huey P. Newton Gun Club.

17 shots were fired that night.

“There’s no other country in the world that has to deal with this, and we need to do better. We need to pass laws at the federal level and state level that try to make this reality much less likely,” said Senator Chris Murphy.

The three men who were shot are not cooperating with police.

Family members want justice in Se’Cret’s honor.

“Now, I gotta stand for her with the rest of the community for some sense of justice for her. Some sense of need for closure. We’re looking for sweet justice, not street justice,” said Rev. Saylor.

2 arrests have been made in the shooting, but it has not been determined who fired the bullet that killed Se’Cret.

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