Six children shot dead in only a week in Chicago

In only a week, six children have been killed following gun violence in Chicago. 

No one can truly relate to the tremendous pain of losing a child better than the mothers who have already gone through it.

The community activist Diane Latiker set up a tribute in memory of the children murdered by gunfire. The shrine was held on South Michigan Avenue near 116th Street, Chicago, as reported by FOX 32.

Hundreds of names of young victims of gun violence are written on the memorial stones. Sadly, six more names were added to the list, including three-year-old Mekhi James and a baby as old as one named Sincere Gaston.

Image credits: Legal Help Firm

Mekhi James, a 3-year-old boy, was shot dead when a fire was opened at his father while they were driving in Austin on June 20. Only a week later, the just 20-months-old Sincere Gaston was shot and killed in Englewood. The baby boy was shot in the chest. His mother, 22, was grazed.

Image credits: Legal Help Firm

Diane Latiker, founder of the nonprofit organization Kids Off the Block (KOB), said:

“It’s like it takes a piece of your soul because whoever is on that stone, somebody loved them.”

On Saturday night, neighbors grieved outside Lena Nunez’s home too. The 10-year-old girl was shot dead by a stray bullet that shattered the window and hit her in the head. The horrific incident happened while little Lena was in her family’s apartment in West Dickens.

Image credits: Legal Help Firm

There were other victims of shootings under the age of 18 during the devastating week.

A 17-year-old boy was killed in another gunfire on Saturday night in Humboldt Park, FOX 32 reports. Furthermore, a 13-year-old girl was fatally wounded by a stray bullet in a shooting.

Tamar Manaseh, founder of Mothers and Men Against Senseless Killings(MASK), said:

“It will shatter your soul if you let it.”

Manaseh emphasizes on the fact that local officials need to look at what stands behind these shootings. She continues:

“There’s no money here. There’s no anything here. People are being displaced and you wonder why people are being murdered, they’re fighting for their lives. They are fighting to put a meal on the table tonight.”

Although it has been 14 years, Pam Bosley still grieves for her son, Terrell. The boy was shot outside a church in Chicago. Ever since her tragic loss, Pam has dedicated her life to helping others through St. Sabina’s Parish.

According to Bosley, the mandatory stay-at-home order due to COVID-19 severely hurt the community, as schools and anti-violence programs were closed. She said:

“You know with the pandemic you had a lot of churches was closed. Everything was closed. That left our youth on the streets, that left them out there with nothing to do, a lot of time on their hands and I’ve been doing this since 2006 and I never, ever saw the violence like this.”

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