CLEVELAND — A Congolese refugee was shot and killed last Friday on Cleveland's west side. And now his community is trying to figure out if the shooting was an accident, even though police are investigating it as a homicide.
Alphonse lives on Trowbridge near MetroHealth and says someone shot a gun right outside his garage. “The bullet casing was found just outside the garage,” he tells 3News.
A bullet hit 35-year-old Congolese refugee Lompembe Sumaili in the neck
as he stood inside the garage last Friday. Since then, nothing has been changed inside that garage. There are still chairs, sofas, and a blood-stained floor since the shooting.
Except that Sumaili is now dead.
The father of four had come to Cleveland a few years ago.
Mayele Ngemba is a Congolese advocate and says police believe the shot that was fired was a stray bulllet. But Ngema has many questions surrounding Sumaili's death.
“If it was a stray bullet, why was the casing found outside the garage," he asks. It was found just feet from where the shooting happened.
Sumaili was at the Trowbridge home to mourn Alphonse's 14-year-old son who died of Covid-related illnesses.
There were several mourners in the garage with Sumaili, including Alphonse. “Lompembe got up to get some food from the table and that’s when the bullet hit him," Alphonse recalls.
Ngemba believes there is more to this shooting. “This community is scared, is terrified, because we don't know whoever did this. We don't know what their motive is," he adds.
And there may be no motive. If this was an accident, the bullet hit a man who was dodging bullets in the war-torn Congo. Never did Alphonse believe a bullet would find its way to Cleveland and kill his friend a week before he buries his son.
“It's crazy to me. What do I do? It happened,” said Alphonse.
The family is raising money via a GoFundMe for funeral expenses. You can donate, here.
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