HUNDREDS of people gathered at Coventry Cathedral to pay their respects to 16-year-old Jaydon James who was fatally stabbed last month.
Jaydon and his friends were attacked in Wood End, Deedmore Road, on Saturday, November 24.
Communities have come together in mourning for Jaydon as the scourge of violent crime continues to plague city streets.
There have already been several candlelit vigils and memorial services held for ‘kind and thoughtful’ Jaydon, who was well-liked in his community.
A packed Coventry Cathedral held a ‘Funeral and Thanksgiving Service’ to give the city a chance to celebrate his life.
Jaydon’s coffin was taken to the cathedral in a hearse with an arrangement of flowers spelling out the word ‘brother’.
His family and friends were in attendance and many delivered moving tributes to Jaydon.
The Declaration of Hope read: “Today, we stand together as one community.
“We call for an end to the violence and aggression in our city that causes division, despair and death.
“We live for a shared future where our homes and our streets are safe places again.
“We declare that the power of love and forgiveness is stronger than the power of fear and revenge.
“We will not be afraid.
“We will each play our part.
“We will choose to believe in hope.”
The Bishop of Coventry, the Right Reverend Dr Christopher Cocksworth, concluded the service with a blessing.
West Midlands Police arrested a 16-year-old boy from an address in Oxford on November 29 in connection with the fatal stabbing.
He is on bail pending further investigations.
