Quantcast

The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

After Mom Killed On Boy's Birthday, Friends Ask For Toy Donations

By Joe Ward | July 29, 2016 5:13pm
 Ja'Mal Green (l.) and Robert Dingle (c.) give 5-year-old Kevion Bass a remote-controlled car Wednesday. Kevion's mother, Africa Bass, was fatally shot on the boy's birthday Tuesday.
Ja'Mal Green (l.) and Robert Dingle (c.) give 5-year-old Kevion Bass a remote-controlled car Wednesday. Kevion's mother, Africa Bass, was fatally shot on the boy's birthday Tuesday.
View Full Caption
submitted photo

CHICAGO — Africa Bass's family lost everything in a fire at their South Side home last week, but the family's tragedy was just beginning. 

Less than a day after settling into their new apartment South Chicago, Bass was fatally shot Tuesday. Neighbors said she was going to a laundromat to wash clothes that were salvaged from the fire when shots rang out from a black SUV.

Bass, 23, was killed on her young son's birthday. Five-year-old Kevion and his two-year-old sister are now being cared for by their grandmother in the South Chicago apartment, according to activists and reports.

READ: WOMAN SHOT IN SOUTH CHICAGO AN INNOCENT VICTIM OF GANG FEUD, NEIGHBORS SAY

In the span of a few days, the children not only lost their mother and guardian but also nearly every possession they owned. But neighbors and South Side activists are hoping to put a smile on the kids' faces during this troubling time.

"He lost his mom on his birthday. It's just heartbreaking," said activist Ja'Mal Green, who is working with the family. "He doesn't understand his mom is gone. I just wanted to make him happy."

The group of supporters is asking the public to help make up for 5-year-old Kevion's terrible birthday by providing the child with toys and other belongings lost in the fire. Donations for the 2-year-old girl are also welcome.

Gifts may be dropped off at St. Sabina Resource Center, 7825 S. Racine Ave., during daytime hours, Green said. Donation checks benefiting the children can be made out to Sheila Jones, the children's grandmother, and dropped off at the center. 

After hearing of the the tragic death happened on the boy's birthday, Green brought the boy a present earlier this week. 

"We got him a remote-controlled car, like I had when I was that age," Green said. "We taught him how to use it and watched him having fun. He was happy."

Green said he is focused on making sure Bass's children have as normal a life as possible in the future. But for now, providing them some comfort in the form of toys will go a long way.

"They're going to have to find a way to deal with it. It's going to be hard," he said. "I want to equip them with some support."

Bass's death came during a particularly tragic week in gun violence in Chicago, including the shooting of a 13-year-old boy shot Tuesday and a 16-year-old girl who suffered a fatal asthma attack while fleeing a mass shooting Thursday.

For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here: