'Love, sweet love:' Child sings moving tribute to Pasquotank prison employees

An Elizabeth City boy's high-pitched song, his tribute to four prison employees killed last month at Pasquotank Correctional Institution, is taking Facebook by storm.

As Abel E. sings "What the world needs now, is love, sweet love," he holds up cards with the names of the four: Veronica Darden, Justin Smith, Wendy Shannon and Geoffrey Howe.

The quartet were killed in an attempted prison break on Oct. 12. Eight other prison employees and four inmates were also injured.

In the video, Abel E., says, "Our community is hurting. The answer is love. God is love. I dedicated this song to the victims and their families."

Abel's mom, Ganelle Sutton, shared the video last weekend, and it has since been viewed almost 200,000 times.

Four inmates – Mikel Brady, 28, Jonathan Monk, 30, Seth J. Frazier, 33, and Wisezah Buckman, 29 – have been charged with first-degree murder in connection with the deaths.

According to 911 calls released after the attempted escape, corrections officers were beaten with hammers and stabbed with scissors as a fire spread inside a Correction Enterprises sewing plant inside the prison.