*It’s a daily occurrence all across the country and in Chicago in particular where nearly 450 people have died as a result of gun violence this calendar year. That unfortunately is an astonishing number. On Friday the city’s violence claimed another victim.
Nykea Aldridge, the first cousin of NBA superstar Dwyane Wade was shot and killed, the Wade family has confirmed.
“My cousin was killed today in Chicago. Another act of senseless gun violence. 4 kids lost their mom for NO REASON. Unreal. #EnoughIsEnough,” the NBA star tweeted Friday evening.
My cousin was killed today in Chicago. Another act of senseless gun violence. 4 kids lost their mom for NO REASON. Unreal. #EnoughIsEnough
— DWade (@DwyaneWade) August 27, 2016
Aldridge, 32, apparently the unintended victim of a gang shooting, was walking around 3:30 p.m. in the 6300 block of South Calumet when two males approached another male and opened fire, police said.
The mother of four was taken to John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County where she was pronounced dead. A relative took custody of the child, police said.
Pastor Edward Jones, a relative and family spokesperson, said the victim had just had a baby. Jones said the woman and her family had recently relocated to the neighborhood and she was on her way to register her kids at school when she was shot.
Pastor Jolinda Wade, Dwyane Wade’s mother, called the shooting “senseless” while speaking to reporters Friday night at the hospital. “We are now in a very, very sensitive grieving place,” said Pastor Wade, who held her sobbing sister Diana.
Despite the tragedy, Pastor Wade spoke of hope for those who commit such crimes.
“We’re still going to try and help these people to transform their minds and give them a different direction, so this thing won’t keep happening,” she said. “We’re still going to help empower people like the one who senselessly shot my niece in the head.”
The day before the shooting, Dwyane Wade spoke via satellite at an ESPN-hosted townhall on gun violence in Chicago.
“It’s deep-rooted,” he said of the violence. “This is something that didn’t start today, this is something that isn’t going to end tomorrow, this is something…hopefully, eventually we can stop it.”
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