Vigil held after Back of the Yards mass shooting kills 9-year-old girl, wounds 10 others

CHICAGO (WLS) -- As police continue to investigate a deadly mass shooting on Chicago's South Side, the family remains shell-shocked.

After Saturday night's tragedy, the family of the victims is still coming to terms with their loss, their own injuries and the care those still hospitalized need. It is almost too much to comprehend. And on Monday, the community stood up and said, "We are with you."

Dozens of people took to the streets of Back of the Yards on Monday afternoon to speak out against the gun violence that took the life of 9-year-old Ariana Molina.

"All the beautiful memories I spent with her, always smiling. Very smart girl in school, as well," said Emilio, Ariana's godfather.

People also gathered to surround Ariana's family with love and prayer.

"Help us Lord to live up to your expectations. Help us to life up to who we are. Help us to be our better selves," one speaker said.

The family is not just mourning the loss of their princess, as they called her, but is also struggling to care for those still in hospital, including two boys who are just 1 and 8 years old.

"They are both intubated, still in critical condition," the boys' great aunt, Julia Molina, said, in Spanish. "They each had two bullets taken out of their stomachs."

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Family members said the 1-year-old boy may need a kidney and the 8-year-old boy is moving his head when people speak to him. Both boys are stable.

In all, 11 people were injured in Saturday night's shooting.

"Hearing my mom on FaceTime with all the children and the moms and my cousins in the background screaming, and asking for help but there was no one here to help yet," said Esme Vargas, Ariana's cousin.

The adult victims include two men, ages 36 and 38, and five women, ages 19, 26, 30, 36 and 40. A 9-year-old boy was also hurt.

Most of the victims are family members, including Ariana's mother, who remains hospitalized.

"If everything comes good she might be able to come out tomorrow afternoon. She may be able to come out, so we can figure out what to do with my daughter," said Ariana's father, Jose Molina, who was also injured in the shooting.

Jose shared a video of his daughter playing with her pet birds.

"She was the best daughter ever... sweet... she loved to play... she was helpful... she was the best," Jose said. "Why would they come and shoot where you see all the little kids? They got something against any one of us, why don't they come to us. Why do they come to the little kids? What do the little kids have to do with that?"

Jose also hit back against police who in the immediate aftermath of the shooting implied it was likely gang-related. Jose's mother, he said, was hosting a confirmation party for his younger sister. It was a religious celebration.

Just as they were getting ready to cut the cake, Chicago police said, two shooters fired 18 rounds at the group.

"To me, that was disrespectful to my family. That's something they should find out first before they attack. Saying we're gang bangers and stuff like that," he said.

Community organizers said on Monday that they are out here for the long-haul to provide the family the support they will need going forward.

"We're all coming out now. This is right after the incident. We'll be here. But the long haul. We have to be here for the long haul, and that's a time of healing and coming together," said Father David Kelly with Precious Blood Ministry of Reconciliation. "We need to commit to ourselves, to one another, that we are going to work every single day so these kinds of thing don't happen."

An organization called Increase The Peace planned Monday night's prayer vigil. They say they want to pray for the family and the community.

"The tragic mass shooting in the Back of the Yards over the weekend was a cowardly act, and we are doing this prayer vigil as a way to show our support for the family -- as a way to unite our community against the violence in our neighborhoods, and to say, 'enough is enough,'" said Berto Aguayo, executive director of Increase the Peace.

Organizers of the prayer vigil say they will also be on the on the ground connecting community members to any services they might need.

Mayor Brandon Johnson also says there was be a mass canvassing event Monday at 2 p.m. around 52nd Street and Damen Avenue to provide the community with additional support including victim services.

Johnson issued the following statement about the shooting just after 5 p.m. Sunday:

Alderman Stephanie Coleman, who represents Chicago's 16th Ward released the following statement on Sunday morning:

The Back of the Yards community is united in our grief, prayers, and collective mindset that we must continue to stand firm against these senseless acts of physical force.
Violence is a citywide issue that continues to falsely characterize the true essence and intrinsic nature of our neighborhoods. This tragedy has left us all heartbroken and distressed. I am hopeful and confident that Superintendent Snelling and the Chicago Police Department will work tirelessly to apprehend the person or persons responsible for this cowardly crime.
I want to send my heartfelt condolences to the family of this precious jewel and my prayers to every person injured."

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