11-year-old soccer fan is mourned
From Times Wire Reports
Thousands of mourners dressed in soccer jerseys packed a Liverpool, England, cathedral for the funeral of Rhys Jones, an 11-year-old shot while walking home from a soccer game. He was laid to rest in a coffin emblazoned with the crest of his favorite team.
As Stephen Jones carried his son’s small coffin down the aisle, his face etched with grief, applause echoed through the church in a gesture bestowed here at the funerals of soccer greats. Mourners wore their favorite soccer jerseys.
The funeral was broadcast on national television. The slaying reopened debate about youth violence in a country where gun crime is rare, but concern about lawless youngsters is rife.
