domingo, 2 de diciembre de 2012

Loss of son underscores mother's anti-violence mission - Chicago Tribune

For 12 years, Evanston resident Carolyn Murray said she's watched instances of gun violence skyrocket in her neighborhood. So this year, she and her alderwoman decided to take action and helped organize the city's first gun buyback program, set for Dec. 15.

But on Thursday, Murray's son became the latest victim of that violence when he was fatally shot outside his grandmother's Evanston home in the same neighborhood.

The twist of fate was not lost on Murray, who said her loss could someday be another's unless more is done to stem gun violence.

"If it can happen to my son, it can happen to anyone," Murray said Friday, her voice flat and taut.

Justin Murray, 19, was shot twice shortly after 6 p.m. in the 1800 block of Brown Avenue. 

Evanston police said they believe the shooting was not random, but they are unsure if Murray was the target.  Nobody has been arrested.

Murray said her son was standing near his grandmother's home with a close friend and cousin at the time of the shooting. She said three men who drove by in a black car before the shooting are believed to have been involved.

On Friday, a distant cousin of Murray's, John Anthony Bamberg Jr., was acquitted of murder in the death of Marcus Davis, who was gunned down in his car outside an Evanston garage in 2010. The Bamberg and Davis families had been feuding, prosecutors and defense attorneys said. But Murray said she did not know who her son's attackers may be.

"If that has anything to do with this, I can't say for sure," Murray said. "That's for police to find out."

Evanston police Cmdr. Jay Parrott said he doesn't know if there's a link between Murray's death and the Bamberg trial.

"It's way too early to discuss that at this point," Parrott said. "At this point, we don't have any specific names for person of interest."

Evanston police are looking for anyone with tips or information to come forward, he said.

In early November, Evanston Mayor Elizabeth Tisdahl announced the gun buyback program — an idea Ald. Delores Holmes, 5th, publicly credited with coming from Murray.

"It was part of a foundation of ideas I presented to the city in August," Murray said Friday. "Delores Holmes and I discussed various alternatives to decrease gun violence in our neighborhood."

What happened to her son is exactly why Murray said she cares so much about the gun problem in the community.

"We are trying to find improvements and make things better around here," she said.

Murray said the sound of gunshots is a common sound near her home. One man seemed to often have "target practice right outside my window," she said, but each time she called police, nothing happened.

On her way to pay her respects Friday, Holmes said she has known Murray for years because of her involvement in local anti-violence measures such as the annual National Night Out and prayer vigils.

"She is a very organized, very sweet, dedicated community person," Holmes said of Murray. "She has kids in the community; she cares about it."

Murray said she has two other children, Ashton, 15, and Phillip, 23, and an honorary son, Michael, 19, whom the family has helped raise since "Justin brought him home from grade school."

Justin Murray had recently moved to San Diego to live with a cousin and planned to work and enroll in a community college, his mother said. He was visiting family in Evanston when he was killed.

The family called him "Babycakes," a nickname that Murray said he got as a child. The name stuck with him into adulthood.

"He ate so much and looked like a baby. We still call him Babycakes," she said with a laugh.

Justin Murray attended Evanston-area grade schools and was a 2011 graduate of Evanston Township High School, his mother said.

The school issued a statement Friday, offering condolences to the family and support and counseling to students and faculty. The teen played two years on the high school's football team and basketball in a community league, his mother said.

"He was a warmhearted, giving, happy boy," she said. "He was very passionate about the people he loved."

Tribune reporter John Huston and correspondent Brian L. Cox contributed.

bdoyle@tribune.com

No hay comentarios:

Publicar un comentario