Mother of Chicago teen shot and killed in Whiting, Indiana, pleads for answers
WHITING, IND. (CBS) – The mother of the 14-year-old Chicago boy who was shot and killed in Northwest Indiana last month pleaded for help on Saturday to find who murdered her son.
Damien Abenante-Villa, from Chicago's South Side, was killed while he was walking to a family birthday in Whiting, Indiana.
Dozens met on Saturday night to honor Damien and demand answers. They lit candles and released balloons in Damien's honor.
The shooting happened in broad daylight on a residential street. Those gathered at Saturday's vigil said someone knows something and they want them to come forward.
"My baby is gone," said Amanda Abenante, Damien's mother. "My baby is gone and I don't know who did this."
Amanda wore a photo of her only child across her body.
"I just want someone to come forward," she said. "Someone that knows something. Somebody knows something, and you know something, put yourself in my shoes. You would say something."
Amanda said she had not received any updates from police.
"It's four weeks," she said. "How much longer? Four months? It's not going to be four years. Where is the justice?"
They held the vigil on the same block that police taped off the evening of March 23. Damien was hit by a bullet in the chest while walking in a group, including some family members, all ages 11 to 16. The Chicago teen was visiting for the weekend just yards from his cousin's home and headed to a nearby park.
Damien died from his wound at a hospital. His mom said there was essentially more than one life that ended with Damien's murder, referencing her own.
"No one will understand the bond that we had," she said. "Nobody. I just want justice for my baby."
Damien's family said the other children walking with him that day were not hit by the bullets but were left with emotional and mental trauma. They asked for anyone with information to contact Whiting police.