Posted 19th Oct 2007
Jonathan Matondo
Police have arrested a second 18-year-old man in connection with the shooting of 16-year-old Jonathan Matondo in a Sheffield playground.
The churchgoing teenager's body was found in a small recreation area in the Burngreave district of the city on Wednesday night.
Jonathan Matondo hoped one day to become a priest
South Yorkshire Police said the first suspect was detained at his home in Burngreave earlier on Friday and is being held in custody.
A force spokesman said the second 18-year-old was later arrested in Union Street. He added that the second arrested youth was also believed to be a local man.
A post-mortem examination showed Jonathan died from a single gunshot wound to this head.
Sheffield police commander Chief Superintendent Jon House said of the first arrest: "This arrest is a direct result of community involvement and we hope to make further arrests."
"Hopefully this will encourage other people to come forward and give us more information."
He has already promised protection for any witnesses who come forward.
People in the city have said postcode gang warfare led to the shooting of the teenager, who hoped to become a priest.
Resident Robert Smith wrote on the website of the Burngreave Messenger: "Today in Burngreave, Sheffield we have reached another new level in an inner city internal warfare that is seeing young people firing guns as though playing a video game with life."
Mr Smith said: "It is about gangs. It's that simple. It's S3 versus S5 versus S4."
Resident Douglas Johnson said everybody in the area thought the death was related to drug dealing.
He said the Burngreave area had a problem with drugs and children were getting involved.
At a press conference Jonathan's vicar said the 16-year-old was a regular churchgoer and had talked about becoming a priest.
The Reverend Jack Kinsiona, from the Light of Christ Church, in Burngreave, was in tears as he remembered the youngster.
"I want you to know that Jonathan was not bad. He's not a bad person. He was a very, very, very great person," the vicar added.
Mr House has tried to reassure local people that despite this tragedy Sheffield remains one of the safest cities in the UK.
Mr House was asked repeatedly whether Sheffield was suffering from a gang problem, but would only say: "What we're focusing on is a 16-year-old boy who's been taken from his family."
The incident happened less than a mile from the scene of a shooting in March which left a 53-year-old taxi driver dead.
This message of tribute to the sixteen year old appeared on the memorial website Gonetoosoon.co.uk.
