On the evening of June 19, 2022, 36-year-old Fredrica Coleman, a single mom to eight children, was coming home from grocery shopping. As she approached her Englewood apartment, where her children were waiting inside, she was gunned down and killed.
A police investigation is ongoing but no suspects are currently in custody.
Witnesses reported seeing guns waved out car windows around the time of the shooting, but did not see the shooting. Gunshots were heard around the time Coleman was killed, estimated to be close to 8:30 p.m. at night.
The family is now seeking justice for their loving mother, lost too soon to gun violence.
Coleman’s sister Catrice Smith spoke with CBS 2’s Suzanne Le Mignot, sharing how traumatized the children are after the loss of their mother. “They still cry. They miss their mom,” Smith said. The youngest child is four. The oldest is 19.
Coleman took care of her children, and worked from home cooking meals and candy that she sold so she could make her own schedule. “She loved her kids,” said her cousin Rufus Carter.
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The family has set up a GoFundMe page to raise money to care for the children, and move them to a safer environment where they can heal.
The children will also need counseling, Smith said, who is now caring for her six nieces and two nephews. “I also need counseling too, to be able to provide for them,” Smith added.
Watch the Full Segment Below:
Help fight gun violence in Chicago and beyond:
- Donate and support Communities Partnering 4 Peace (CP4P), convened by Metropolitan Family Services, a framework that provides a comprehensive, long-term approach to reducing violence and gang activity.
- Donate to READI CHICAGO, an innovative response to gun violence in Chicago.
- Donate to Chicago CRED, a multifaceted approach to reducing gun violence.
- Mom’s Demand Action For Gun Sense In America is similar to MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Drivers), and was founded in response to the Sandy Hook school shooting by one mother and quickly spread.
- Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence is the oldest, largest statewide organization committed to changing laws and behavior in order to reduce the devastating effect firearms have on our society.
More from Better:
- ‘Moms Demand Action’ Continues to Take Up the Fight Against Gun Violence and Political Apathy
- What Drives Someone to Commit Violence and How Can We Help Break the Cycle? A Licensed Clinical Psychologist Weighs In
- Give Time, Things, Support: 6 Ways to Make a Difference Around Chicago and the North Shore This July
