Daunte Wright was fatally shot by a police officer in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, on April 11.- His funeral is being held in Minneapolis on Thursday.
- He was memorialized by his mother, father, and siblings during the funeral.
Daunte Wright's mother said her son "should be burying" her instead of the other way around as she memorialized her son at his funeral in Minneapolis on Thursday.
Mourners gathered at Shiloh Temple International Ministries on Thursday to honor the life of Daunte Wright, 20, who was fatally shot by a police officer during a traffic stop in Brooklyn Center, a Minneapolis suburb, earlier this month.
"I never imagined I'd be standing here - the roles should be completely reversed," Katie Wright said while speaking in front of activists, local leaders, friends and relatives at Shiloh Temple International Ministries in Minneapolis. "My son should be burying me."
"My son had a smile that was worth $1 million," she said. "When he walked in a room he lit up the room. He was a brother, a jokester, and was loved by so many. He's going to be so missed."
Katie Wright said Daunte's son was born at 28 weeks, and the "joy" the baby brought to his life was "truly amazing."
"He was so happy and so proud, and he always said he couldn't wait to make his son proud," she said. "Junior was the joy of his life, and he lived for him every single day and now he's not going to be able to see him."
Aubrey Wright, Daunte Wright's father, stood by Katie Wright's side as she spoke, and added: "I don't really speak much, but words can't even explain who I feel right now, that was my son."
Daunte Wright's siblings also spoke in front of the crowd.
His sister, Monica Wright, said she "didn't really get enough time with" her brother.
"I didn't get to tell him I loved him before he left," she said. "He didn't deserve this. He was so loved by everybody."
The funeral came one day after hundreds of friends and family attended a public viewing for Wright, 20, at Shiloh Temple International Ministries, according to the Associated Press.
Civil rights leader Rev. Al Sharpton delivered an emotional eulogy at Wright's funeral. In his speech, Sharpton said Wright will take a seat on the "martyr's bench" next to other individuals who were shot and killed by police, including George Floyd, Philando Castile, and Oscar Grant.
Wright was shot and killed by officer Kimberly Potter in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, on April 11, following a traffic stop. In body camera footage, an officer is heard yelling, "Taser! Taser! Taser!" before Wright was shot. The officer can then be heard saying: "Holy s---. I just shot him."
Brooklyn Center's police chief said last week that Wright's
Potter, who resigned from the Brooklyn Center Police Department last week, has been charged with second-degree manslaughter in Wright's death.