Staff photo / Ed Runyan . . . Michal Miller, 14, stands with, from left, Youngstown Mayor Jamael Tito Brown, Guy Burney of the Youngstown Community Initiative to Reduce Violence and businessman and former professional athlete Herb Washington on Friday morning at Michal’s lemonade and candy stand along Fifth Avenue on Youngstown’s North Side.

YOUNGSTOWN — Michal Miller will be a freshman at East High School this fall and spent part of his summer getting ready for the fall football season with the East High football team.

But nearly every afternoon this summer, including weekends, he spent his time at two locations on Youngstown’s North Side selling lemonade, candy and other items to passersby. He frequently had his siblings there with him.

On Aug. 8, however, the 14-year-old got a shock when a Boardman boy, his age and unknown to him, pointed a gun at him at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Redondo Road and robbed him.

A Youngstown police report stated that the Boardman boy walked up to Michal’s stand and played with the football there for a bit before Michal picked up the football and turned around to see the other boy pointing a gun at him. Only Michal and the other boy were there.

The boy with the gun took Michal’s money, which was in a small, red safe. And he took Michal’s white Nike Elite book bag and “took off running,” the police report stated.

Fortunately, Youngstown police officers were able to talk to a witness who said that a boy “was talking about robbing someone,” the report states. She told officers where to look for the boy, and he was found.

Police retrieved the stolen money and returned it to Michal. The Boardman boy was taken to the Mahoning County Juvenile Justice Center, where he is facing a felony robbery charge and was ordered detained in the juvenile detention center, according to court officials.

But that is not where the story ends.

City officials, including Guy Burney, executive director of the city’s Community Initiative to Reduce Violence, local businessman Herb Washington and Mayor Jamael Tito Brown did not want to let this moment pass without recognizing the way in which Michal’s willingness to work to make money provides a positive example to others in the city.

“The thought process is you overcome evil with good,” Burney said at a press event held Friday morning at Michal’s drink and candy stand. “You can’t let bad situations be the narrative all the time.” Burney said it’s phenomenal that Michal was “right back out here after something like that happens.”

Two celebrities and lots of ordinary people stopped by to offer their support to Michal, including Bishop of Youngstown David Bonnar and Washington, who brought a check for $1,000 for Michal and, perhaps just as significantly, gave him encouragement during a group discussion with him, Burney and the mayor.

Washington asked Michal about his interest in football and the position on the field he wants to play, and learned that Michal got all A’s on a recent report card.

Washington and Brown also talked business with Michal. Washington once ran 27 McDonald’s restaurants in New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio during his 40 years with the company.

“It’s a good way to make some money,” Michal told The Vindicator. He said he is working on some plans that might expand his little business.

Brown said Michal’s story was worth pointing out to the public because of the positive message he imparts.

“I think this is going to be another fine example of young people out there saying ‘If I do good, if I do the right thing, good things are going to happen.”

Brown said as a parent, you give your kids encouragement.

“But when they take it and they flourish with it, that’s what (Michal) is doing,” adding, “From a father, as a citizen, as a mayor, I couldn’t be more proud of this young man, what he is doing. He is setting the bar for our generation of kids.”

Washington said he has seen Michal at his lemonade and candy stand on Washington’s trips to an area golf course.

“It’s impressive to see a young man doing it the right way, in terms of raising money for school and football,” he said.

“The message for people young and old — this is about choices. This young man had a choice to make after the robbery took place,” Washington said.

“He could say ‘I’m going to take revenge,’ or he could say, ‘You know what, I am going to get back out there and continue to do it the right way,'” Washington said. “This speaks volumes about the parenting that has taken place.”