Community activists call on Lightfoot to give kids bulletproof backpacks amid Chicago gun violence
Dajore Wilson, 8, killed in Canaryville Labor Day shooting
CHICAGO (WLS) -- Some community activists in Chicago want children to carry bulletproof backpacks in an effort to stem the growing number of young gun violence victims.
Violence Interrupters Executive Director Tio Hardiman asked during a press conference Thursday morning outside Chicago Police Headquarters for Gov. JB Pritzker and Mayor Lori Lightfoot to introduce measures to provide body armor to kids.
Hardiman said nearly 40 children have been shot and killed so far this year.
One of them was 8-year-old Dajore Wilson, who Hardiman claims might be alive if she had this kind of protection.
RELATED: Chicago crime: $10K reward offered in fatal Canaryville shooting of Dajore Wilson, 8
"The young girl, Dajore Wilson, shot and killed on 47th Street, if she had a bulletproof backpack, there's a possibility it could've helped to save her life, if someone had acted fast and put the bulletproof backpack in the window," Hardiman said.
Hardiman is a former politician and community activist. During Thursday's press conference, several children demonstrated how the backpacks, made by Tier 1 Protective Solutions, could help during a possible shooting.
Several backpacks were also given out at the event.
