A 7-year-old boy, Cashmere Elijah Parker, died after a malfunctioning firework entered his family's North Carolina apartment on July 4, sparking a blaze that killed him. The first-grader was laid to rest in a small white casket at a funeral service held Tuesday at Central Baptist Church's Chapel in Dunn.

Investigators determined that a "cake style" firework, which shoots multiple rounds, malfunctioned and began firing horizontally. The projectile traveled approximately 100 feet before entering the Parker family's apartment through a window, igniting the fire, according to a Dunn Police Department press release. Cashmere and his father had reportedly gone to bed before the tragedy occurred.

Brittany Armstrong, 35, has been charged with involuntary manslaughter in connection with the incident. Officials stated that Armstrong set off an illegal firework that shot into the apartment where Cashmere was sleeping. She was arrested in Fayetteville after failing to turn herself in, according to WRAL. Armstrong appeared in court on July 8, with her next court date scheduled for July 28.

Cashmere's mother, Gloria Parker, described her grief to CBS 17, stating, "You don't know the pain if you never lost a child." She recounted watching security footage of her son's final moments, which showed him knocking on doors and windows and screaming for help.

At the funeral service, friends, family, and teachers gathered to honor Cashmere. Principal Beth Elmore of Plain View Elementary School remembered Cashmere as a boy who loved gospel music, whose voice "forever echoes through the halls." Elmore added that Cashmere "reminds us to hug each other a little tighter, to smile a little bigger, to sing a little louder, to ask more questions, and to care deeply."

A GoFundMe campaign was established to assist with funeral expenses, raising over $20,000. The campaign's organizers expressed a plea for community support, stating, "No donation is too small, and every contribution will help ease some of the financial stress as they focus on mourning the loss of their beloved child."