Family, friends remember Rock Hill boy who died of accidental gunshot

The face of 3-year-old Sa’Vion Barrow smiled through a picture frame and out toward the church sanctuary Saturday as the room filled with friends and family members who came to say their final goodbyes to the Rock Hill toddler.

In the lobby of New Covenant Missionary Baptist Church, a blanket emblazoned with Sa’Vion’s picture was a reminder of the boy who shot and killed himself accidentally in his family’s Rock Hill home less than a week ago.

“There is no age requirement for death,” the Rev. A.J. Johnson said. “One day, every one of us is gonna have to leave here.”

Police said the toddler somehow got his hands on a gun that was legally owned by his parents and shot himself Nov. 15. His death remains under investigation by the Rock Hill Police Department. A police spokesman said Wednesday investigators are “allowing the family to grieve their loss at this time.”

A page of the funeral program featured a collage of pictures of Sa’Vion showing him making a mess with food in his high chair, riding an amusement park ride and holding up a toy car at a playground. In each one, he was smiling – “the prettiest smile that anyone has ever seen,” his obituary on the other side of the collage noted.

Saturday’s service was one of celebration rather than grief.

“Now, we grieve for ourselves, but Sa’Vion is not grieving,” the Rev. Dr. W.E. Garrison said. “We have questions, but for Sa’Vion, all the questions are answered.”

Laughter rippled through the sanctuary as Garrison recalled Sa’Vion hugging him after Sunday services, noting that “some days, after the sermon, he wouldn’t even speak to me.”

Garrison told family members there is peace in knowing Sa’Vion is with Jesus and was never exposed to the horrors of society people face when they “grow up.”

“Sa’Vion is in a lot better shape than a lot of us,” he said. “Sa’Vion didn’t know how to hate people because of the color of their skin. He didn’t know to hate people for hate.”

Garrison said those who have faith will see Sa’Vion again.

“Where Sa’Vion was living is a simple house. He’s in a mansion now,” he said. “In God’s new world, there are no more tears. In God’s new world, there is no more death. In God’s new world, there are no more guns. In God’s new world, there’s no more sorrow.”

“It’s OK to cry,” Warren Brice, a friend of Sa’Vion’s father, Terry, said to the family. “I know y’all are hurting right now, but cry tears of joy.”

Brice’s accapella rendition of “I am free. Praise the Lord, I’m free” concluded the service with others joining in as pall bearers rolled the small white casket out the door.

“No longer bound, no more chains holding me,” they sang. “My soul is resting, it's just a blessing. Praise the Lord. Hallelujah, I'm free.”

This story was originally published November 21, 2015 at 7:21 PM with the headline "Family, friends remember Rock Hill boy who died of accidental gunshot."