Mourners release balloons for brothers killed by a family member

De’Asia Freeman, left, sister of Xavier Barnett and Akwame Stewart, released balloons with family for the brothers on March 2. Photo by Azhae’la Hanson 

By Azhae’la Hanson, Reporter 

Aniyah Freeman and her brother Deonte loved their uncles, adoringly referred to as "Budda" and "Kwame". 

Aniyah said they would give them candy, play video games, and stay up late making noise until they woke up their grandma. Deonte called them more like brothers. 

On a chilly afternoon, they released balloons in the sky in hopes that they would reach their uncles. 

Xavier “Budda” Barnett, 14, and his brother Akwame “Kwame” Stewart, 23, were shot and killed by a family member on Feb. 23 at home. 

A vigil for the brothers was held on March 2. Family and friends gathered at their house for a balloon release to remember the two of them. 

Blue and white balloons decorated the sky. A song Stewart wrote was played from a nearby car. His cousin, Dearon Freeman, wept. 

“I’m going to say his full name so people remember it,” he said. “Akwame Stewart was an inspiring guy; he loved people, even when people didn’t love him.” 

He spoke with admiration for Stewart and described him as an inspiration, a jack of all trades, an artist, and someone who made sure that everybody had a smile on their face, even in adversity. 

Freeman and Stewart were only five months apart. Growing up beside him often included jokes and laughter. 

He shared the last memory he had of Stewart, two days before Stewart's passing. They were talking about a memory from when they were kids, eating waffles. 

“I had made a waffle sandwich, and he made a waffle sandwich, but he kept laughing at me because I bit my whole waffle sandwich,” Freeman said. “I had like five waffles stacked on top, and he just kept laughing at me. That dude was my best friend.” 

Following the vigil, family members of Xavier Barnett and Akwame Stewart stayed to comfort each other. Photo by Azhae’la Hanson

Several people shared stories like that from the two brothers. Making people laugh was a trait they both possessed. Looking back, those moments were not at all ordinary. They were what brought so many people together in life, and to their vigil that day. 

People packed the family's lawn and spilled onto the sidewalk. 

“I didn’t even realize that Budda (Xavier) was so popular in school,” Freeman said looking at the crowd of kids that gathered. 

It was Xavier’s friends from school and the neighborhood. They hosted a balloon release of their own on Friday Feb. 27 at Creekview Park, where Xavier went to middle school and played football. 

That Friday, a crowd of youth gathered with balloons and signs in hand. They wrote messages to Xavier on balloons to be released. 

“I miss you brother, I love you so much,” a balloon read. 

His friends described Xavier as someone who would notice if you were gone, and when you returned, he might've hugged you, greeted you with a charming “how you doing, buddy.” He flashed a big bright smile adorned with braces. 

To family and friends he was their heart, a person who grounded them. Xavier grew up at Creekview Park playing football with The Bando Wolves, graduated from Olson Middle School last spring, and was in his freshman year at Camden High School. 

“He (Xavier) was protective of his friends, and his mom. He really excelled at all levels. That was really the coolest. He was the heart of the group. If Xavier wasn't around, then there was something always going on,” Damarion West, a childhood friend of Xavier said. 

The shooter was 23-year-old Eddie Duncan, the cousin of the two brothers. Duncan was killed later that same day in an exchange of gunfire with Brooklyn Center police. 

At the vigil, the many worlds these two created merged. Mourners heard nicknames for the first time for the two. 

In the absence of two deeply cherished people, Xavier's cousin Dalylah said she and his friends have come together to take care of each other. 

The weight of the loss was heavy in the atmosphere that day, even so, some were still able to smile. 

“It’s what he (Xavier) would have wanted,” she said. 

A GoFundMe was started by the family to help support the costs of the funerals and other expenses