‘A Phenomenal Kid’: 13-Year-Old Killed by Drive-By Shooting While Playing on His Bed

A bookish 13-year-old boy was playing with his iPad on his bed on Friday evening when someone pumped several rounds from an automatic weapon into his Tuscaloosa home, his family said. The boy, identified as Kei’lan Allen, was listening to headphones when the shooting occurred and likely did not hear the shots, his cousin said. There was an open dictionary next to him, police said. Around 13 bullets came through his bedroom, striking him in the head. “He was a very smart kid,’’ his 26-year-old cousin Corey Prewitt told AL.com. “He probably had over 30 books in his room.” Allen’s mom said she called to her son, but he didn’t answer. “So she walked in the room, and he was slumped over,’’ Prewitt said. “She just grabbed him and was telling him, ‘I love you. I love you.’ An innocent child with a bullet hole in his head.” Police have not identified a suspect and have called on the community to come forward with information.