LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — For much of Sunday afternoon, dozens of people gathered outside a home on West Sixth and North Upper in Lexington to pray for a child who lay dead inside.
"We had to be there because we all loved Landon," said Ronnie Woolfolk, a minister at Greater Liberty Baptist Church. "At that moment, I knew it was time for us--instead of crying--we needed to pray."
Woolfolk arrived at the scene to comfort others and grieve his own loss. Speaking to LEX 18 Sunday night, Woolfolk said he is a cousin of Landon Hayes, 10, who was shot and killed in an apparent murder-suicide.
Woolfolk described Landon as a tough, but sweet, kid, who was just about a week away from his 11th birthday.
"You'll never get another Landon," Woolfolk said. "He had his own personality, had his own way. Landon was just who Landon was."
In a Facebook post on Sunday, Terry Hicks, a former football coach for Landon, described him as "comical, smart, and fearless."
Woolfolk and others close to the family told LEX 18 that Tyrus Lathem, 22, the man who allegedly shot and killed Landon, was dating Landon's mother.
"I'm going to keep her rooted and grounded in what we know," Woolfolk said of Landon's mother. "And that's the word of God."
