After spending two weeks in the hospital, three-year-old Me’chelle Kinney, also known as ‘Meme’, has been discharged from Cook Children’s Medical Center. Meme sustained serious injuries when a bullet pierced her liver and punctured her right kidney during an incident outside Miramar Apartments on May 1.
Dontee Kinney, Meme’s father, shared the news of her discharge during a call for action at New Mount Rose Missionary Baptist Church, where families affected by the shooting gathered to speak out against gun violence.
Marquita Devereux, whose 14-year-old son Noah was among the injured minors, expressed the trauma experienced by the children and their families. Tanzania Day, the oldest victim of the shooting, was also present at the event but was too overwhelmed with emotion to speak. Her aunt, Janiell Gray, conveyed Day’s distress, describing how she wakes up screaming and crying since the incident.
Keila Harrison, another parent, spoke on behalf of her two children who were shot, expressing frustration at the lack of support from their community and the need to resort to online fundraising for assistance.
Residents of Miramar Apartments also highlighted the neglect from property management, with repairs still pending and no outreach or assistance offered to affected families.
Despite the challenges, there is hope for support from organizations like LVT Rise, which has reached out to the affected area to provide assistance.
New Mount Rose will host a food drive on May 22 to support the affected families, emphasizing the need for essential items like baby food, fresh vegetables, and protein. Volunteers will gather to load donations onto a truck, which will be distributed to residents of Miramar Apartments later that day.
