DATE: Tuesday, June 10, 1997                TAG: 9706100223

SECTION: FRONT                   PAGE: A1   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: BY ANGELITA PLEMMER, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH                        LENGTH:   70 lines

HONOR STUDENT, 13, DIES AFTER BEING SHOT THROUGH FRONT DOOR

A seventh-grade honor student died Monday after she was shot Sunday night when someone fired twice through the front door of her home as she answered the doorbell.

Eboni Johnson, 13, a student at Hunt-Mapp Middle School, was struck once in the face and once in the chest when bullets pierced the wooden door.

She was taken to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital after the shooting and died about 6 p.m. Monday.

She was gunned down around 10 p.m. Sunday as her family watched a basketball game in their home in the Brighton neighborhood, said an uncle who asked not to be identified by name.

``Eboni does not fit the profile'' of a murder victim, the uncle said Monday as he stood outside Eboni's home in the 2200 block of Peach Street. ``She was a good student. . . . She was just a child.''

Eboni's mother and other family members took turns in hourly vigils by her bedside at the hospital before she died, the uncle said.

Police had made no arrests Monday night and released few details about the shooting except that the suspect or suspects may have fled on a motorcycle following the incident.

``We're still searching, and we're still hoping that if anybody has that information, they will certainly give us a call,'' said Amber Whittaker, a police spokeswoman. ``She was awfully young.''

Other police sources speculated that the attacker or attackers may have shot Eboni by mistake after showing up at the wrong house.

The Johnson home is in an older neighborhood where retirees and young families live, police said. Until Sunday, there had been no emergency calls to police from the address.

In the Brighton-Prentis Park area, violent crimes - which include murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault - dropped about 60 percent from 1995 to 1996. Last year, there were 28 reported violent crimes in the area. In 1995, there were 69.

On Monday, teachers at Hunt-Mapp Middle School were shocked by the news and struggled to comprehend how such violence could befall the student they described as quiet, amiable, bright and hard-working.

``You don't want it to happen to anyone, but you wonder why Eboni,'' said math teacher Joseph Gatling. ``She was the ideal student. She was always accurate with her work.''

According to school officials, it was the girl's first year at the middle school. She and her family had recently moved to Portsmouth from Philadelphia.

Two weeks earlier, Eboni - an A student in math and a B student in science - had been inducted into the National Junior Honor Society. She hoped to go to college.

``She was always one of the first kids to finish her work,'' said Belinda Whitney, who taught Eboni teen living as a part of a life-management class. ``She always wanted to do more, and she had such a pleasant personality.

``When I heard about it, I just broke down.''

Last week, teachers chose her to deliver the welcome address at the ``Careers and You'' class graduation celebration.

Eboni, speaking on behalf of the June 1997 graduating class, told her classmates and school staff:

``We feel that we are on the brink of an exciting adventure, starting the search for our lifelong interests and career choices. We feel like we are now on our educational and professional launch pad, preparing for our life countdown.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo

Eboni Johnson's family recently moved from Philadelphia. Whoever

fired the shots may have gotten the wrong address.

Map KEYWORDS: MURDER SHOOTING

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