By Lashay
Gun violence seems to be a big thing going on in the world. Last year, I experienced two deaths from gun violence involving my cousins. The first one was on the night of New Years Eve around 9 o’clock; he was gunned down and died early New Years day from mistaken identity. When I got the call at 5 in the morning that one of my favorite cousin had passed, I was in so much shock that I couldn’t even go back to sleep, I couldn’t believe he was gone. Until I went to my aunties house the next morning where he lived, and saw all my family members faces and how they looked.
That’s when it really hit me that he was no longer on earth. I immediately ran to my mom and started crying uncontrollably, until I was able to calm down a little. Nineteen days later, his older brother, who was also my cousin had been shot along with his friend not too far from his home. It was the day of the Super Bowl so some of my family was already on their way to my auntie’s house, when we got the call that his car had been shot up.
We didn’t know exactly if he had died, not until later. To stay safe my cousins and I went back to Fremont where we had just came from and waited impatiently for answers regarding the shooting. When nobody was answering our phone calls, we went on Facebook and were shocked to see everyone posting R.I.P. We got angry because nobody told us any thing. Someone finally answered and said he was gone. We all ran outside crying, but I was just trying to comfort them because I felt that I had to be strong for everyone else. I didn’t actually start crying until I heard my moms voice when she told me he died.
I said, “I want to go home and that I didn’t want to be there anymore.” As the days went on I realized how short life could be so my cousins and I decided to do a song in their honor, and we’re continuing to do more. My auntie is doing better now. She recently wrote a book and does a lot of community speaking and interviews. Overall I just hope that there’s justice in the future because gun violence is a horrible thing to deal, with especially if it’s someone in your family, or someone that your really close too.
