In loving memory of Antonio Zimiga (Tiny T)
Sunrise: June 21, 1977 – Sunset: Febuary 2, 2010

Tiny was not just my best homeboy for 20 years, he was also my best friend, my only person that I could truly rely on for anything, and I mean anything. As youths the things that we had been through, and made it through were not everyday type of things that teenagers go through. We were part of something that ment a lot to us, and in total there was about 10 of us all together. At all times we were a family, a unit, a movement! We all made it through and were very lucky. For thoses of us that are left, and by using the word left, I mean still living, we are constantly at a struggle in our minds about the losses we have been through. At a young age death is not understood correctly, But the death of a teenagers friend, or homeboy, is something that is crucial, and many of us still are haunted by our memories of our homies that are gone.

Febuary 2, 2010 around 8 p.m. Tiny was in front of his house sitting inside his car with a girl that he had been seeing for only a couple weeks. Antonio did not bring this girl around anyone, nobody knows what she looks like or anything about her. But for the few weeks that Antonino was involved with her he stayed away from all, except the handful of people that were a social group that this girl belonged to.

Febuary 2, 2010 Antonio was shot in the head. By who? No one knows. The San Bruno police and the South San Francisco police spent more then an hour debating on which city should be handling Antonio’s murder because Antonio’s house was borderline between the two cities.

Sadly, I don’t know much about anything in this matter, what I do know is that Sgt. Jonie Lee of the South San Francisco police pushed the fact that Antonio was in a gang in his teenage years that lead Antonio to being in jail for over 15 years, not just that on Febuary 3,2010, I read in the local news paper that the shooting the night before was a suicide.

Next month Febuary 2,2012, Tiny T will be gone two years and his is unresolved, case closed based on no facts at all of my friend killing himself.

Antoinio was asked by my Husand Terry, (who was murdered Jan 13, 2011) to be our daughter Terriana’s Godfather. Tiny was always for my son like an Uncle.

Our future for our children is dark, almost hopeless.
Rest in peace with terry and watch over us Tiny.
Love you and miss you dearly
Mrs. Turner

My son, Allantae Powell, was gunned down on the Westside of Detroit as he was walking from his pastor’s house to meet with a friend before she left for college. He was shot in his back, for the reason I don’t know at all. He was just eighteen years old and a Senior in high school. He was a very determined kid who played football for Osborn High School. He had a bright future ahead of him. He was very active in his local church where he ministered to many. Allantae had lots going for him, and everything was taken away from him by senseless violence.

On December 16, 2011 my life turned upside down when my son André D. Bohanon was robbed and shot. On December 18, 2011, we took my André off life support because that wasn’t living. André was 21 years old and a licensed barber. He was just starting his life. He had a plan for his life and a vision to own his won businesses in three different cities. Yes, the sky was the limit for him.

André was so special to me and there is not a day that goes by that we don’t miss him greatly. We miss his laughter, we miss his smile, we miss his many special talents, we miss his love of people, and his concern for others. André was an organ donor. His choice because he signed his drivers license. God must have needed a really special angel and He choose André! I will forever love you, cherish the time we had and your memory will live forever.

In André memory, we started the André D. Bohanon Memorial Scholarship-Northern Illinois University and parents are members of Purpose Over Pain advocating for safer communities to end senseless violence.

-Deneen Bohanon-Silmon (mother)

Read more about the case on America’s Most Wanted

My son, Lenwood Cameron Hearon, was murdered in Chicago on September 28, 2011 by a so-called friend. The “friend” shot my baby multiple times, while sitting in my son’s car with him. My son drove his car into a wooded area, crashing it into a tree and injuring the animal who did this before Cameron died. My son died at the scene, while the shooter was seen by residents fleeing from the car.

Cam, as he is affectionately called and known as, was a talented graffiti artist known nation-wide. In the “graf” world he is known as DARE. Cam had just graduated from Malcolm X College, with high honors. He had plans on attending UICC the fall of 2012.

Cameron was a blessing and joy to us all. He was a wonderful son, a loving brother and devoted uncle to his niece and nephew. He was also a caring human being to all of his true friends.

Cam is gone from our earthly world, but lives strongly in our hearts everyday. He will forever be missed & loved, but never forgotten. His infectious smile and generous heart will live on.

Cam was taken away from us at the young age of 32. What a beautiful soul the heartless and inhumane person took away from us, but sent him to heaven to be our angel and to prepare our next family home.

Parents never heal from this. We pray to be given resources, strength and support on just coping and/or getting through with our lives after such a devastating loss. However, I don’t look at myself as a mother who lost her son. My son didn’t just “die”. He was killed and taken away from me, his family & friends by a vicious animal. He was murdered, which is why it is so much more difficult to cope. But we have to get through it with prayer, and each other.

It has only been 4 months since my son’s murder, and each passing day is a struggle. We miss him so much. It is not getting easier, just harder to accept the reality that he’s gone. That he won’t be with us for holidays, birthday celebrations, or just family gatherings. I won’t hear his voice on the phone, ending the conversations with “I love you son…..& “I love you too mom”. His brother, sister, father, nieces and nephew will forever keep his memory and soul alive.

My tears still flow daily…if not down my face, in my heart. I will never be the same.
We have to stop the gun violence.
We love you Cam…..Mommie

I always knew a gun would alter my life. I have no idea how I knew, but I did. One of the most vivid dreams I ever had was when I was just 18 or 19 years old. I saw myself, clearly older, sitting in a chair, rocking a child, and I was staring into the barrel of a gun. Who was holding it? I had no clue. But the dream disturbed me enough that I wrote it down. And I remembered it years later, when a single gunshot shattered my life.

In an instant, my husband was gone. While I never had a burning desire to have children, I liked knowing I could do so one day. But my ovaries became diseased while I was still very young; and so my fertility and eventually the ovaries themselves, were also gone. The child did not exist, and never would.

When the subject of children comes up, I exclaim, “Oh, my gosh! I forgot to have them!” Over the past 19 years, I’ve gotten pretty good at the acceptable responses. I know most people don’t mean to hurt by their words. I shrug it off most days, and I consider all children my own. I don’t have to be a parent to know they are precious.

[Read more...]

I lost my best friend, my brother on July, 02, 2007 in Port Charlotte, Florida. My brother was the best son, brother, nephew, grandson, cousin and friend anyone could ask for. His smile and sense of style and good looks were to die for, unfortunately someone selfishly took all that away from us. Shane was murdered by his so called friend, while saving the life of a girl he barely knew. He was shot multiple times, stepped over and left to die. Pockets emptied as he pleaded for help. I never imagined that I would get a phone call saying he is gone, or have to go home and break the news to my family that he was murdered. I lost my best friend on July 2nd, I lost my everything. My heart yearns to feel his tender touch, to kiss him one more time, to say “I love you”.

I still cant imagine how someone could be so cold-hearted and take a life, then you are a coward and take your own life …

I always tell my friend Rashonda to be grateful that her family got justice for her brother “Carl City Williams”, because I will never get to face the killer and tell him how much he broke my family apart, I will never get the feeling of knowing that justice is served or that he is rotting in jail. But i get comfort in knowing that god is good and I am sure the killer is rotting in hell.

For all of you who lost a love one, I pray that one day you may find comfort in your heart. I know that I have not forgiven Joe for what he did, i am not to sure that i ever will. I believe forgiveness is the first step to healing , and i just cant forgive so i think my heart will be broken forever.

To my sweet brother Shane Patrick McCullough: rest in peace til we meet again.

As a chaplain who has ministered to six families who lost children to gun violence, I know that it is time to do absolutely whatever it takes to stop gun violence in America. This is for the sake of our children!

He was a Marine veteran and an avid supporter of gun rights. He was the divorced father of three adult daughters. At the time of his death he was nursing his 2nd wife as she lost her battle with breast cancer. He had not shared his lifelong battle with depression with anyone but his wives. Although he was a hard worker, he was having financial problems. He thought he was having health problems but didn’t want to go to the doctor. At his funeral his ex & his widow told us they’d expected him to wait until after the widow’s death to commit suicide. In his suicide note he said he couldn’t wait anymore. He didn’t want to leave a mess for his sick wife so he dropped off his dog at a friend’s house & drove to another friend’s funeral home in the early morning, phoned 911 to report his own suicide, and then lay down in the parking lot & shot himself in the head with his favorite pistol, the one he kept in his truck. His widow, who wasn’t expected to live more than two months longer, lived another five. In Canada male suicides often survive. In the USA they usually die. What a difference a pistol makes. Canadians only have hunting rifles. His death is so sad and makes no sense.

My son Jose was an amazing child. On September 15, 2011, ten days after his sixteen birthday, he was gunned down. He was shot from the back. He loved animals, he watched biography and history channel. Enjoy rap music, and believed that family came first. I love him very much and I miss him. May he rest in peace. He was truly a blessing from God.

Always and Forever in our Hearts and Souls
We all know that the great things life offers us do not last forever. Things we cherish and deeply love have a limited time. Anthony was one of life’s greatest creations. He contributed in this lifetime greatly. He benefited all of us with his character, his adoration, his looks, his smile, his energy, and his spirituality. However, the most significant quality in him was his immense love for people. He once said, “I wish I could give the world a hug.” The people in his life molded him into the individual he had become. He kept people always close by, because it was all the people who contributed to his life who made him the happiest.
Anthony continuously believed in peace and love. He never doubted these words, they kept him going. He made sure whoever met him learned what love and peace was. He would suffer if anyone of his friends suffered. He would make their problems his. This shows what a pure and good heart he possessed. Anthony was always taken care of. God always watched over him and made sure his desires were fulfilled. He always told others not to worry. He wanted to live life and have fun instead of worry. He never wanted to restrict himself of anything that would make him happy, and enable him to learn. He had a love for learning. He knew it would always aid him in life and shape him into a stronger man. The way he used his mind was attractive because it made so much sense. He had such logic and wisdom. His last name fits the wise part. Prudhomme in French means wise man. Towards the end of his life, the word wise best described Anthony.

He was extremely ambitious and positive about his future. He saw himself as a performer and a successful producer. He emulated his favorite producers, such as Rockwilder, Neptunes, The Rza, Jay-Dee, as he came up with his own beats. His lyrics represented his true sensibility. He spoke of what he knew and what he had lived through. He loved to chill, hang out with his friends, listen to and study music, and be with his girl. His love for music was huge. His favorite artists used to put him to tears with their lyrical skills, and that amazed Anthony. He knew he too could accomplish that feel for himself. Every Tuesday he anticipated going to the Wherehouse to see which of his favorite artists released a CD. He said he always wanted to support the artists. Anthony was taking keyboarding classes at Glendale Community College.

I have learned that each life, no matter how fragile or brief – forever changes the world.  I have always said that the angels danced the day my boys were born. Their birthdays were two of the happiest days of my life. Three years ago I woke up on a Monday morning lovingly reflecting back 17 years to the day of Michael’s birth I remembered holding him as he took his first breaths of life, and marveling at the wonder of his being – never in my wildest imagination did I think later on that day I would hold Michael on the day of birth, and embrace him as he took his last breathes of life. There is a reason I share the single most horrific moment of my life – the death of my child. The idea that another family would ever suffer the agony, the heartache, the pain, the horror of their child dying such as we have lends me the strength to discuss the bullycide of my child. Unbeknownst to us Michael had come under attack by a well-known abuser whose sense of humor was that of a sociopath. Our son’s abuser had a behavioral file a mile wide, and this young man sat behind our son in his fourth period class and tormented him unmercifully. Unbeknownst to us, this abuser had set his sights on our son, and thought it would be funny to tell the world that Michael was gay, even though Michael never self-identified as being gay.
When I think of all that I had, and all that I have lost I know one thing forgiveness is a gift we give ourselves in order to have peace, and in my mind’s eye I can still see the young man my son was on the brink of becoming – the other night I heard something that simply resonated with me, ”down these mean streets a man must go who is not himself mean”, Michael was a well-loved young man who was exceptional he was not mean, and because of that he paid a dear price for being the gentle soul that he was. I leave you with this –“A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials, heavy and sudden, fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine, desert us; when troubles thicken around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts”.

I remain forever Michael’s mother.

Laura was killed in a rampage shooting while home on winter break from college. She was at her place of work in rural Nevada County, when a severely mentally ill gunman shot her four times at close range, killing her instantly. Laura was nineteen.

Laura had extraordinary capabilities, kindness, and spirit. She was an outstanding student, graduating as high school valedictorian, and was at the time of her death a sophomore at Haverford College and in the midst of her campaign for the student body presidency. Laura was extremely organized and motivated; she lived life fully as she danced through her days, easily juggling rigorous academics, student council, community service, piano, ballet, and long distance running. She had many close friends.

At age nineteen, Laura was already living a life full of service; she wanted to make a positive difference in the world…she had unlimited possibilities and the brightest of prospects. Her daily life was witness to her beliefs as she touched and inspired the lives of those around her.

Laura’s killer had a houseful of illegal guns. In Laura’s memory, we are working to keep guns out of dangerous hands. We seek to spare other parents the pain of losing a child to gunfire. We miss our daughter every day.

I am moved to honor my only child, a beloved son, Lonnie A. Levine; a murder victim whose short-lived existence was erased due to senseless, gun violence. Sadly, my son’s murderers were gang members who had no regard for how precious life is.

Lonnie was a man always striving to be a better human being. He was targeted, since he was both, from New York and not a gang member. This assassination was an attack on his person and an insult to his freedom. Lonnie’s smile was infectious. He was loved by any and everybody in several states; New York and New Jersey being his two home states. However, his Virginian roots run deep, as he was conceived there and thus had formed bonds with his dad, many relatives and friends.

Lonnie’s presence illuminated any environment that he was a part of. He was kind in nature, funny as “all get out” and he embraced a diverse group of family, friends, school mates and employers. From theater, modeling, martial arts, basketball and chess, Lon enjoyed many recreational arts, and leisure activities which broadened his horizon and inspired his zest for life.

Lonnie was a son, a brother, a grandson, a nephew, an uncle, a cousin, and a friend to many. Regrettably, he will never get to be a father, a husband, or just to be, as God created him uniquely and wonderfully made in his image for many more years to grow. To know Lonnie was to love him, yet even greater than this was, if you didn’t know him, you surely wanted to get to be in his presence; men and women alike.

A love like Lonnie’s can never be extinguished! His love and memories will live on through family who devote their lives to making this world a better place; better than the conditions that he lived to see taking place. You made us all proud Lonnie, and we only hope to do the same in honor of your cherished life. Rest in peace! Please, open the gates of Heaven wide when it’s time for any of your loved ones to join you. Eternal life is the ultimate gift which we all hope to achieve son so, until we meet again, “WE LOVE & MISS YOU” Psalms 23:4 “Yea, though I walk through the valley of a shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.” Psalms 23:5 “Thou preparest a table for me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.” Psalms 23:6 “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” PEACE PLEASE!

I was with my daughter when I got a horrific phone call from my mother. I had heard that there was a shooting in Tucson earlier on the news but it seemed so far away, and I initially thought it was not an area that my brother lived in.
How very wrong and how very incredibly numb. Our little Christina, my niece, my daughter’s cousin, was the nine-year-old who was shot going to see Congresswoman Gabriel Giffords speak.
I immediately thought of my brother and his family. How could this happen?
Christina was a bright, cheerful girl who was full of life and had a future brighter than the brightest star. We miss her terribly.
What has to change is the senselessness of such acts across the country. Christina was one of many – every day you turn on the news. There were 325 murders in Philadelphia alone in 2011 – people who have guns but have no morals and no regard for human life. This person had 30 some odd rounds of ammunition and was able to kill and injure so many people in just seconds. He had an untreated mental condition and yet he was able to get guns and ammunition with little effort on his part. Something as simple as a complete background check potentially could have prevented these deaths. Legislation is needed in ALL 50 STATES to curb senseless killing by unstable individuals. What additionally needs to happen is education. Gun ownership carries a powerful responsibility. No one outside of the military needs a military-style gun that can kill like that. It shouldn’t be a popular thing to have these types of weapons. Early education and decreased popularity will help to make these guns no longer popular with the public.
We miss Christina every day. Now, she is an angel that we look for every night in the stars and in kind words from friends and family. It would have been so much better to have her here with us, with her family, growing into the beautiful young person that she was to become. STOP THE VIOLENCE! PASS THE LAWS!

Jitka was murdered on April 13, 2011. She was killed by a stalker – a Canadian man who was able to cross into the United  States and buy a 40 caliber handgun on a Washington-based gun auction site. The gun was easy to get since no background checks are required for this type of private sale. This is wrong. A national law requiring a Brady check on every gun sale is the only way to keep guns out of criminal hands. We must stop the shadow sales of deadly weapons online and at gun shows and flea markets. Jitka is the greatest person I haver ever met. I cry every day knowing that tomorrow someone else will lose their greatest person to gun violence. Together, we can be the light of change and save a life.