KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Loved ones gathered on Thursday to remember a baby boy killed in a drive-by shooting in KCK earlier this week.
With heads bowed and hearts heavy, dozens of community members showed up to a candlelight vigil Thursday night in honor of seven-month-old JaQuail Mansaw with a message to stop the violence.
The baby’s mother is anxious to find the person responsible.
“We’re going to find out who killed my son. We’re going to find out. I’m not giving up. There ain’t no such thing as giving up. This won’t be a cold case, I can tell you that,” Balethia Washington said.
JaQuail’s father is heartbroken.
“I’ve never been through anything like this. It’s just hurting my heart so deep,” MyQuail Mansaw said.
The baby’s killing marks the fifth time in recent months that a child was shot in a drive-by shooting in the metro area, something neighborhood leaders say must stop.
“It’s a disgrace and it dishonors our community. Wyandotte County is a very nice place to live, but of course we live in a broken world and evil will stick its head up anywhere,” Reverend Desmond Lamb of Forest Grove Baptist Churt.
Dozens who showed up to the vigil turned to their faith and leaned on each other for support before sending a batch of balloons into the air, one final gift for JaQuail.
“My family is going to be here, we stick together. A family that prays together stays together,” Balethia said.
The baby’s father told FOX 4’s Katie Banks he and his family had nothing to do with this crime. If you know who did, call the TIPS Hotline at(816) 474-TIPS.