Family, Friends Honor 4-Year-Old Shot And Killed In Kensington With Anti-Violence Vigil
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The 4-year-old girl who police say was killed by her father in an apparent accidental shooting was honored Monday evening at vigil outside her home in Kensington.
Dozens of pink balloons floated to the sky, as friends and friends gathered in the 200 block of East Mayfield Street to pay tribute to the life of Tahirah Phillips and call for peace.
"There is no time or place where you should have a gun in front of a child," said Mel Wells, who leads 'One Day at a Time,' a group which promotes positive lifestyle support in city neighborhoods. "We usually come out and do more of marches and rallies, but today we are coming out to spread the love and our message of protect your home, protect your children, but keep the guns away."
Terry Starks, with Philadelphia's Anti-Violence Coalition, used the tragedy to urge people to get guns out of the neighborhoods and promote peace.
"We want to make sure the city of Philadelphia knows that it was a mistake that went deadly," Starks said. "We can't have this stuff in our city. The community has to come together so we can stop this stuff."
Dimarys lives on the block with her six children. She came out to honor the young victim. She says her family lives in fear.
"You can't even let your kids come out and play like normal kids in your own neighborhood," she said. "I am afraid to let them outside. Something might happen, you never know. Kids be gone in a blink of an eye. It's terrible."
And even more difficult, was explaining the loss to her own children.
"I told them that a little girl had an accident," Dimarys said, "and now she's up in heaven."
