Rally Renews Demand For Justice For Minneapolis' Youngest Shooting Victims: 'Everyone Should Be Angry Right Now'
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A somber gathering was held in north Minneapolis Sunday to remember children who have been shot in recent months.
Local activist K.G. Wilson returned for the first time to the spot where his 6-year-old granddaughter Aniya Allen was shot in May, on North 36th and Penn avenues in the Folwell neighborhood. Five children have been shot in north Minneapolis this summer. Two of them died, including Aniya.
"If you are like me you are angry and fed of what's been going on in our community," Wilson said. "You are angry and fed up that there has still been no justice for our children shot down and murdered in our community!"
It's coming up on three months since 10-year-old Ladavionne Garrett Jr. was shot in the head, and his grandmother, Sharrie Jennings, has been with him at the hospital every day.
Jennings shared with WCCO a recent breakthrough in her grandson's recovery: He lifted his head on his own.
"It's huge," Jennings said. "It may be small to some, but it's humongous to me. I thank God for it. He got a will to live, and this little 10-year-old boy is a fighter."
Jennings' attention is divided between Ladavionne's hospital stay and the struggle to find answers about what put him there.
"Their names need to stay alive in the community," she said. "This should not be swept under the rug. This should be something that we should be marching, protesting. Everyone should be angry right now."
She believes someone in the community knows something and is asking that person to come forward.
"Say something," Jennings said. "Save the next child."
Jennings says Ladavionne will need to have another surgery.
Mayor Jacob Frey and Police Chief Medaria Arradondo were also in attendance at the rally.
