ROCKFORD On the heels of a deadly year in which shootings in the city more than doubled, faith leaders are urging officials to put money toward curbing gun violence.
Live Free Illinois, an organization whose mission is to end gun violence and mass incarceration, held a news conference Friday afternoon at Spirit of Truth Church, 828 First Ave. The faith-based organization is on a statewide campaign called Fund Peace to urge city and state officials to spend a portion of its federal American Rescue Plan money on gun violence prevention programs.
Within the next two weeks, the city of Rockford is expected to receive its first installment of $54 million in federal funding from the American Rescue Plan. The organization is asking the city to allocate $3 million to fund its program over the next two years.
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It s still hard to make sense of what happened at Don Carter Lanes a few nights ago. The mother of the 14 year old boy that was shot, is dealing with her own medical issues and now this.
From WIFR Diane Wynn is the mother of Printess Wynn, one of six people shot on December 26th at Don Carter Lanes. Diane was in a serious car accident weeks ago, and has been unable to return to work. Now, Diane has the struggle of paying to medical bills for her son that was shot in the face. Here is what Diane said about the situation on her Go Fund Me page.
He hit my friend, and they started screaming, so that’s when we all got up and started running, she recounted.
Estrada said she immediately hid behind boxes, but was spotted by the shooter when the teen got up to see if she could run outside. .The shooter, he saw me and that’s when he shot me, the 16-year-old stated. I just laid there and tried to stay still because I knew if he saw me moving he would shoot me again.
Estrada sustained a gunshot wound and was released from the hospital a few hours after the shooting. Her friend, Wynn, sustained a gunshot wound to the face and was airlifted to a Madison, Wisconsin, hospital.