A Mother Searches For Justice, Calls For Laws To Protect Children, 59 Days After Son Mychal Moultry Jr., 4, Was Shot And Killed
CHICAGO (CBS) -- It has been 59 days since 4-year-old Mychal Moultry Jr. was shot and killed while getting his hair braided in a Woodlawn neighborhood home.
As CBS 2's Jackie Kostek reported Saturday, city leaders have come together to push for anyone with information to come forward.
The boy's mother, Angela Gregg, said Saturday that she wants her son's small life to make big changes in the city of Chicago. Right now, she is among 34 families who are grieving the loss of children who were murdered - and who do not have justice, because those cases remain unsolved.
Mychal, known as MJ, was shot inside a house near 6500 South Ellis Avenue shortly before 9 p.m. Friday, Sept. 3. Police said he was struck twice in the head after shots were fired from outside that went through the window of the home.
He was then transported to the University of Chicago's Comer Children's Hospital where he died two days later.
Since the night MJ was killed, Gregg has been canvassing the streets near where he was killed every Saturday, speaking to as many people as she can and spreading the word about the $15,000 reward available for anyone who comes forward with information about MJ's killer.
Gregg said she is working with several local leaders to try to get laws changed that could better protect children from the gun violence that killed her beloved son.
"Every day I get up and I fight, and every day that I have to be reminded of how many days it is, it gets harder. But I know that I can't take my foot off the gas, because as soon as I take my foot off the gas, that's when the people who killed my son get the most comfortable," Gregg said. "And I definitely don't want them to be comfortable. I want them to be as uncomfortable as they have made me and my family."
Police on Saturday released surveillance video showing the people suspected of firing the shots that killed MJ into the Ellis Avenue building, and also the vehicle in which they arrived.
Police Supt. David Brown said they know MJ's family was not the intended target of the shooting. They know who the intended targets were, and the gangs involved, but Brown says the missing piece right now is someone coming forward – which has not happened.
Anyone with information is asked to call Area One detectives at (312) 747-8380 and to ask for Detective Ranzzoni.