Firefighters create scholarship fund for machete attack child victim

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Life can take turn for the worst in the matter of moments and for one three year old boy, he lost it all last September in an act of violence.

A group of Wilmington firefighters are doing to make sure he has a bright future ahead of him no matter what.

“My biggest thought after this was I didn’t want this to define his life. I didn’t want this tragedy to be everything he became. I didn’t want something more negative to come out of it,” said WFD Master Firefighter Rodney Lester.

He remembers a day last September when an act of violence left a mother and baby dead. 3-year-old Dea’yoin survived the incident.

“Whenever there is a serious call of this nature, it effects a lot of people,” Lester said. “It’s not just the patients that are involved. The people who respond, the police officers, the paramedics, the firefighters we are all drawn into that and it’s part of our life at the time.”

After what happened, first responders that day including Lester say they wanted to make sure Dea’yoin had a good life to follow.

“You go from 0 to 100 mph in about 15 seconds when you get a call like this so it takes it toll on your body over time, the stress, but it’s something that we love to do and whatever sacrifices that need be made, we are willing to make them,” Lester said.

They wanted to do whatever it takes to allow Dea’yion to live like a normal child.

“It really affected us at that point and we felt like we had to do something to help this kid out,” Lester said.

On Saturday, June 4, Wilmington Professional Firefighters Association are hosting an fitness challenge event at the Battleship Park that benefits Dea’yion.

All proceeds goes toward creating a scholarship fund to help ensure he has a bright future.

“You know he’s young,” Lester said. “You’re not really sure how these types of things are going to affect children later in life so hopefully this will give him a positive attitude and it will offer him chances to ti make something better with his life.”

The fitness challenge event starts Saturday morning at 10 a.m. at the Battleship Park.

Teams of three will compete in a combination of high intensity cross training exercises, but if you want to just come out and support there will be a beer tent and food trucks.