ST. LOUIS — As the old saying goes, life is a Journey.
"Jurnee was like a young woman with an old soul," said her father, who asked that his name not be publicized.
Eight years old, to be exact.
Unfortunately, Jurnee Thompson's journey in life was cut short Friday night when she was shot and killed after a football jamboree at Soldan High School.
"I think people just need to wake up and realize the value of a life," Jurnee's father said.
In this case, it was the life of his 8-year-old daughter.
"It was one of the biggest fears of my life and now I'm living it as a reality," he said.
It's a reality that's sadly becoming all too common in St. Louis. Thirteen children have been shot and killed in the St. Louis area since June.
"Everyone has had a role to play in this violence," said James Clark with Better Family Life.
Clark is on his own journey, hoping to end the violence before another child's journey is cut short.
"Mothers can no longer let that 14-year-old boy walk out of the house at 10 at night and not know where they're going," Clark said.
A lot of questions are still unanswered, such as: who killed Jurnee Thompson?
Jurnee's father had one thing to say to the person who shot and killed Jurnee: "'Why would you take my baby away from me?'"
It's a question more than a dozen other families are asking as one more child's name is added to the list of journeys ending too soon.
Mayor Lyda Krewson and other St. Louis officials announced during a Saturday press conference that a $25,000 reward is offered for any information that leads to the arrest of Jurnee's killer, as well as for three other children killed in shootings recently in the St. Louis area.