Noah Inman's Highland Babe Ruth All-Star teammates weren't with their brother Saturday afternoon, but they kept him close every step of the way during their last tournament of the season. 
 
 Some got their caps embroidered with "NI 12," Noah's jersey number, while others just wrote it on their caps. And each time they huddled before taking the field, they would break the huddle by chanting "1-2-3-NOAH!" their coach, Juan Maldonado, said Sunday. 
 
 Hearing his team show such devotion to Noah, fighting for his life 30-some miles away in a Chicago hospital, was almost more than Maldonado could take. 
 
 "We played three games this weekend, and hearing them chant every few minutes, that got me choked up," Maldonado said. "Here I am coaching my son, and Noah, who I've coached since he started, doesn't get to be here." 
 
 Noah, 13, of Hammond, was hit by a bullet that fell from the sky earlier this month. He died Saturday afternoon at Comer Children's Hospital in Chicago. Inman was with a group of children outside playing basketball around 9:30 p.m. July 1 in the 7300 block of Harrison Avenue when he "suddenly fell down" according to Hammond police spokesman Lt. Steve Kellogg. 
 
 Witnesses thought it may have been a seizure and immediately called for an ambulance, but at the hospital, it was learned Noah was struck from a falling bullet that was shot into the sky by someone in the nearby community. 
 
 Police believe "this bullet was most likely fired into the air like a firework," Kellogg said earlier in the week. 
 
 Mayor Tom McDermott Jr., who used to coach on the Hammond Optimist Baseball League on which Noah played, didn't know him from baseball but knows the family as "a good, close-knit Hammond family who values education." He called Noah's death "a ridiculous fluke." 
 
 "I don't know what (people who shoot their guns in the air) think happens —the bullet disappears into thin air?" he said. "The bullet could've come from Munster, Cal City, East Chicago, really anywhere close by. 
 
 "It's like getting struck by lightning — so senseless. It's a horrible tragedy, and I hope the people who could've done this come forward." 
 
 Maldonado said Noah's cousin, Edgar Gonzalez, wore Noah's jersey through the tournament over the weekend. When it was over, the entire team signed the jersey and plan to present it to Noah's father and stepmother, Stan and Shannon Burczyk. 
 
 Maldonado called Noah a "dream kid" to coach. 
 
 "He hustled in everything he did. If you told him to catch on a 100-degree day, he would catch the whole game," Maldonado said. "If you had to bench him because there were too many kids, he would sit without complaining. There are always a few kids who're tough to coach, but Noah was one of the perfect kids." 
 
 Dan Vassar, president of the Highland Babe Ruth League on which Noah played this season, said the league will talk with his parents to determine how they will celebrate Noah's life. He said Noah fit right in with all the new teammates, and the league wants to help in any way it can. 
 
 "As a parent, you think about your kids being over at so-and-so's house, and that they're safe," Vassar said. "Noah had his whole life in front of him, and we're heartbroken and devastated for his parents." 
 
 Hammond Police Chief John Doughty said in a statement Sunday the department offers its heartfelt condolences to the family. 
 
 "We wish you peace to bring comfort, courage to face the days ahead, and loving memories to forever hold in your hearts," Doughty said in the statement. "Our hearts go out to you in your time of sorrow. When reason fails, pray for peace. We will be praying with you." 
 
 Michelle L. Quinn is a freelance reporter with the Post-Tribune. ||||| A 13-year-old boy was critically wounded when a bullet fell from the sky and hit him as he played basketball with a group of kids in northwest Indiana Saturday, police said. 
 
 A 13-year-old boy has died after being struck by a falling bullet that was likely shot into the air like a firework in northwest Indiana last weekend. 
 
 Noah Inman, of the 1600 block of 171st Pl. in Hammond, was pronounced dead at 2:06 p.m. Friday, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner's office. 
 
 At around 9:30 p.m. on July 1, police said Inman had been playing basketball with a group of kids in the 7300 block of Harrison Ave. when he suddenly fell down. 
 
 Witnesses at the scene thought he may have had a seizure and called for an ambulance. Once at the hospital, officials discovered Inman had been hit by a falling bullet that was shot into the sky by someone in a nearby community. 
 
 Boy Gets Hug From Trump at Florence Aid Event 
 
 While handing out meals to Hurricane Florence victims in New Bern, North Carolina, President Donald Trump got a special request — a hug from a young boy who was helping out. Trump obliged (Published Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2018) 
 
 He was flown to Comer Children's Hospital in Chicago where he died Friday. 
 
 Police said an investigation determined the bullet was "most likely fired into the air like a firework." 
 
 "The Hammond Police Department would like to offer our heartfelt condolences to the Inman family," police said in a statement Sunday. 
 
 "We wish you peace to bring comfort, courage to face the days ahead, and loving memories to forever hold in your hearts," the statement continued. "Our hearts go out to you in your time of sorrow. When reason fails, pray for peace. We will be praying with you." 
 
 Hammond authorities issued a reminder that it is never legal to discharge a weapon in city limits, and asked the public to call 911 to report anyone they believe is using a firearm as part of a celebration in the summer holiday season. 
 
 No one is in custody in connection with the shooting, according to Hammond police, who continue to investigate. 
 
 Cancer Patient's Christmas Decorations Vandalized 
 
 Neighbors in Colerain Township, Ohio, rallied to help when someone slashed the Christmas decorations of a 2-year-old with terminal cancer. (Published Thursday, Sept. 20, 2018) 
 
 Anyone with information on who may have fired the gunshot in the South Hammond area that struck Inman is asked to call (219) 852-2988. ||||| A 13-year-old boy who was struck by a falling bullet that was likely fired into the air like a firework last weekend in northwest Indiana has died.Noah Inman was playing basketball with a group of children about 9:30 p.m. July 1 in the 7300-block of Harrison Avenue in Hammond, Indiana, when he suddenly fell down, according to a statement from Hammond police and the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office.Witnesses thought the boy had a seizure and called an ambulance, police said. At the hospital, it was determined that he was struck by a falling bullet that was shot into the sky by someone nearby.Inman was later flown to Comer Children's Hospital in Chicago, where he died at 2:06 p.m. Friday, authorities said. He was a Hammond resident."The Hammond Police Department would like to offer our heartfelt condolences to the Inman family. We wish you peace to bring comfort, courage to face the days ahead, and loving memories to forever hold in your hearts. Our hearts go out to you in your time of sorrow. When reason fails, pray for peace. We will be praying with you," according to a statement from police.The police department reminds residents that it is illegal to discharge a firearm within city limits.Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to contact Detective Lt. Mark Tharp at (219) 852-2988 or Detective Sgt. Mark Ferry at (219) 852-2991. ||||| Detroit� Jakari Pearson, an 8-year-old baseball fan who was shot and killed as he slept in his bed Wednesday, was the latest casualty in a city that has lost nearly 500 children to homicides since 2000. 
 
 Wednesday night, dozens of people gathered in front of the Jakari�s home to lay candles at a memorial in front of a growing collection of stuffed animals on the steps to the door. Above the mementos were handmade signs with messages such as "Give our children a chance � take a stand" and "Children are the future! Stop the violence." 
 
 On a black railing, Jennifer Teed, Jakari�s second-grade art teacher, tied yellow and orange scarves he loved waving in dramatic presentations. 
 
 "He was very theatrical, even though he was shy," she said. "He liked to dance and act out." 
 
 Some who gathered spoke youth in the neighborhood about the importance of community and recognizing the impact of one�s actions. 
 
 "I tried to get through to these guys that it's not all about self," said Edmoun Spears, 26, who lives with his girlfriend and their children several doors down. "Respect the other people around." 
 
 The weight of the tragedy brought out longtime neighborhood residents such as Tyrail Kendricks. 
 
 "When you lose a little one like that, it's terrible," he said. 
 
 Jakari died at about 1:15 a.m. from a high-powered rifle opened fire outside the rear of his unit in the Brewster Homes complex, in the 600 block of East Street near Interstate 75 and Mack, where sporadic gunfire isn�t unusual. 
 
 But the booming nosies that shook Tenesha Higgins early Wednesday were just too close. 
 
 �I haven�t been to sleep,� Higgins told the Associated Press. �I don�t feel safe at all. I didn�t go to work today. I didn�t want to leave my baby.� 
 
 Large bullet holes pockmarked the outer brick wall of the townhouse, along with a single bullet-hole in Jakari�s bedroom window. Police say one of the bullets struck the Spain Elementary School student in the upper body. 
 
 The blasts, along with a woman�s shrieks, jolted neighbor Beatrice Spears awake. She ran from her nearby unit to find a grisly scene. 
 
 �The police were just taking Jakari out of the house,� she said. �They were trying to bring him back alive, doing chest compressions.� 
 
 An ambulance arrived and rushed the boy to an area hospital, where he was pronounced dead. 
 
 Investigators took a man identified as a �person of interest� into custody, and were interviewing him Wednesday. 
 
 �The person we are talking to has not been arrested or been identified as a suspect in the shooting,� Sgt. Mike Woody said. �He�s nothing more than a person of interest in this case and is being interviewed. 
 
 �He did not voluntarily come to us but was found through good, old-fashioned police work, plus tips from the community.� 
 
 As the media gathered at the housing complex Wednesday morning, Jakari�s distraught father, Jamre Pearson, charged at reporters before being restrained and taken back to Jakari�s grandmother�s unit. 
 
 According to family at the scene, the shooter may have been a jealous suitor who had recently broke up with the victim�s mother. 
 
 Jakari�s front porch and steps were adorned with a baseball-shaped balloon bearing the written message, �Luv U J.,� dozens of teddy bears and other stuffed animals, and two hand-lettered signs. One, which Spears said was made by children in the apartment complex, said, �R.I.Paradise Angel (Jakari P.)� 
 
 Earlier Wednesday, a superhero-themed bed sheet lay on the porch, although it was later removed. 
 
 �It�s a shame our kids have to deal with something like this,� said Spears, who sat on a neighbor�s porch Wednesday afternoon, watching her two sons, ages 7 and 10 � Jakari�s classmates at Spain � play in the courtyard, just yards from the shooting scene. 
 
 �My 10-year-old came outside (after the shooting) and saw his friend,� she said. �I tried to tell him it was going to be OK. He said, �Jakari didn�t do anything to anyone.� I had to send him home. He�s a strong boy, but this is really bothering him. You can imagine.� 
 
 A Detroit News report in January found that in 2010, the last year for which statistics were available, Detroit had a homicide rate of 15.7 per 100,000 children through age 18 � the highest in the nation. Chicago was second with 13.4 per 100,000. 
 
 Nearly 500 Detroit children have died in homicides since 2000 � an average of nearly three dozen a year.
– One moment, 13-year-old Indiana boy Noah Inman was playing basketball with friends on a summer evening. The next, he was on the ground, fatally injured by a bullet that had fallen from the sky. Noah died in a Chicago hospital on Friday, six days after he was hit by the bullet, which police believe was fired into the sky "like a firework" by somebody celebrating in a nearby community at around 9:30pm, NBC Chicago reports. People at the scene initially thought Noah had suffered a seizure. The Hammond Police Department offered its "heartfelt condolences" to the boy's family and urged the shooter, or anybody who knows somebody who was firing into the air on July 1, to come forward, ABC 7 reports. Noah played baseball in the Highland Babe Ruth League, where coach Juan Maldonado describes him as a "dream kid" to coach, the Chicago Tribune reports. He says on Saturday, during the team's last tournament of the season, players had "NI 12" on their caps, referring to Noah's jersey number, and chanted "1-2-3 Noah" after huddles. Mayor Tom McDermott Jr. describes the death as a "ridiculous fluke" and a "horrible tragedy." "I don't know what [people shooting their guns in the air] think happens—the bullet disappears into thin air?" he tells the Tribune. "The bullet could've come from Munster, Cal City, East Chicago, really anywhere close by. It's like getting struck by lightning—so senseless." A GoFundMe page set up to help the family has raised more than $22,000.