Dolton vigil unites community stricken by surge of violence
DOLTON, Ill. (FOX 32 NEWS) - A recent surge of violence in Dolton is causing members of the community to pause and go about their lives in different ways than they've been used to.
On Thursday night, they come together as police look to solve two violent killings.
It's still difficult for Glasper Thompson, Akeira Boston's uncle, to talk about his loss.
Just days ago, 16-year-old Akeira was killed after a bullet meant for another struck her as she sat in a car outside a convenience store, just days before beginning her junior year of high school.
Thompson used his voice, uniting in prayer with others one mile away from where she and another woman were killed, to say they've had enough of the violence.
"She was innocent but I'm quite sure somebody knows something," Thompson said.
Days before Akeira's murder, the family of Marshia Bowman, began grieving hers, too.
The mother of eight children had been driving down Sibley Boulevard when a stray bullet, again meant for someone else, struck her head while four of her children sat in the backseat.
A shootout after an armed robbery, blocks from that location, left an officer injured.
"She was such a giving person. She made you feel comfortable wherever you were," her friend Beth Foulks said.
Bowman's friends and co-workers, joining this circle, in disbelief of village crime.
"When it happens to someone you know and you've been friends with for about 10 years, it hits harder," Jessica Foulks said.
While this community turns inward for help ending the violence, calling on each other to step up, elected officials lend their support.
"I'm tired of all the crime in dolton. Something has to be done," Dolton trustee Tiffany Henyard sai.d
The murders of Akiera Boston and Marshia Bowman remain unsolved.
Funeral plans for neither of the victims has been announced.