Mourning the loss of a mother and her baby boy. Dozens came out Tuesday evening to remember a young woman and her 4-month-old after they were shot and killed in Hartford last week.
Mourning the loss of a mother and her baby boy. Dozens came out Tuesday evening to remember a young woman and her 4-month-old after they were shot and killed in Hartford last week.
“This has been going on for years and it’s still going on and we’re talking about a four-month-old baby,” Reverend Henry Brown, founder of Mothers United Against Violence, said.
Anger and frustration in Hartford as family, friends, and community members came out to pay their respects to Jessiah Mercado and her four-month-old son, Messiah Diaz.
“We’re talking about an innocent 20-year-old mother and a 4-month-old baby. How innocent can that be?” Brown said.
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Hartford police say a fight over a vehicle led to the deadly shooting last Tuesday on New Britain Avenue.
Mercado had recently moved out of the state to escape this type of violence after working with a violence intervention program for young mothers called ROCA. Her grandfather, who spoke to us in Spanish, said she was a loving mother and was trying to create a better future for her son.
A future, he says is now gone.
“Go through this pain. This is a pain that I don’t recommend to anyone. I don’t recommend this pain to the biggest enemy that I might have. A girl whose hugs I miss. I miss the call of ‘Grandpa!’ I miss the boy. It’s an incredible pain,” Jose Reyes said.
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He’s now trying to turn his pain into purpose. Over the weekend, 23-year-old Lance Morales was arrested in Puerto Rico and now faces charges for their deaths.
Mercado’s grandfather believes more programs in the city could lead young people, especially men, to a better path in life.
“There are many things happening. Parents are desperate because they can’t do anything with their kids, and we need these big leaders to do something so that these people can have a place to release that stress and enjoy the fruit of their labor in this world we live in,” Reyes said.
Morales remains locked up in Puerto Rico and is set to have an extradition hearing next Thursday. When he returns to Connecticut, he’ll face charges including murder and assault.
