ST. LOUIS — In just one day, two children in the St. Louis region have been shot and killed.
Community advocates say this is happening all too often and want to continue to push for parents and families to lock up their guns so that this doesn’t happen to anyone else.
JD Dixon, Founder of Empire 13, said they had so much life left to live.
“I have a 5-year-old daughter ... and just thinking about or imagining my daughter dying at the age of 5 and dying from a gunshot wound or gun violence. I mean, that's devastating. And so I think about the families, what they're going through,” Dixon said.
The Belleville and Berkeley communities are grieving Tuesday tonight after two children were shot and killed just hours apart.
“At least 15% or so that are accidental and honestly want us to many and so it’s tragic. It’s terrible and it’s something that needs to be addressed,” St. Louis County Prosecutor Wesley Bell said.
Police said 7-year-old Darnell Macon shot himself when he was left alone inside his grandfather’s truck in Berkeley. He found the loaded gun in between the seats. His grandfather has now been charged.
Gail Wechsler with Moms Demand Action says it is so tragic.
“We at Moms Demand Action call these unintentional shootings as they are really not accidental because there are things that parents and guardians can do to securely store their firearms, whether it's in your home or in your car,” Wechsler said.
Thirty-five minutes away in Belleville, police say 5-year-old Dariyah Lathan was shot and killed at her home near West Main and 88th Street. A car was seen rushing her to the hospital where she died.
Community advocates in Illinois met with area law enforcement to try and help put a stop to these kinds of tragedies.
“We need all levels of government to help us with the safe boxes for guns, the education of guns, you know, the stronger gun laws in surrounding states because that affects us,” City of Joy Fellowship Youth Pastor Zach Chike said.
Wechsler says they really want parents and guardians to take advantage of the free resources available now so they don’t have to grieve the loss of their child because of a gun.
“You really need to keep your guns unloaded and use a gun lock or put it in a lockbox, separate from ammunition. And I will note that in St. Louis City and St. Louis County, there are many places where you can go get free gun locks."
You can text the word locks to 314-425-5355 and we can send you a list of places where you can get a gun lock for free.