Every year, nearly 40,000 human beings lose their lives to gun violence. That number is so incomprehensibly large—so tragic—we lose sight of the individual lives lost. So tonight, I want to focus on one city, where an 8 year-old and a 15 year-old were shot dead this weekend.
Since April, at least 12 kids in St. Louis have lost their lives to guns. Kayden. Kennedi. Xavier. Jurnee. Eddie. Charnija. Derrel. Sentonio. Myiesha. Jashon. Kristina. Jason. Here's a bit about who they were.
Kayden Johnson, 2 years-old. Think about that. 2 years-old.
“He was uplifting,” Kayden’s father said. “He was always smiling.”
Kennedi Powell, 3 years-old.
“She was a beautiful young lady. She was the type of person who liked to play a lot, like to run off and pinch you,” her grandmother said. “It’s hard—real hard.”
Xavier Usanga, 7 years-old. The next day would have been Xavier’s first day of second grade. Xavier’s sister was also shot that day. Their mother, Dawn, said to the shooter: “You killed my son... and I hope his smile will burn in your brain forever.”
Jurnee Thompson, 8 years-old. She was at a football game with her family when she was killed. “The little girl wasn’t doing anything wrong,” said Police Chief John Hayden.
Eddie Hill IV, 10 years-old. “It’s unimaginable,” his mother says. But it continues to happen across our country.
Charnija Keys, 11 years-old. The same age as my daughter.
Derrel Williams, 15 years-old. Derrel was the third person killed in the Kingsway East neighborhood of St. Louis this year alone.
Sentonio Cox, 15 years-old. His friend said he was on his way home.
Myiesha Cannon, 16 years-old. “She was loving, kind,” her mother Latrice said. “She did not deserve this. She did anything for everybody.”
Her sister added: “I miss her.”
Jashon Johnson, 16 years-old. Killed near Fairground Park—a place where children should be living their lives, not losing them.
Kristina Curry, 16 years-old.
Her grandmother: “I can’t understand why someone would hurt my granddaughter that way.”
Jason Eberhart, 16 years-old. “He had a lot of potential,” his cousin Charles remembers. “We were looking for him to go somewhere.”
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