"No more babies buried!"
Group assembles outside Alton Housing Authority to demand accountability and change following July 4 death of Alton teen
In the overnight hours of July 4, 17-year-old Shabrya was shot in the head by a stray bullet at her residence in the 900 block of Oakwood. Police administered first aid, the Alton Fire Department came in next and kept her alive until she could reach a nearby hospital. Due to the severity of her injuries, they airlifted her to St. Louis where she perished in a hospital.
Her death was described by community leader Abe “Lee” Barham as stretching a rubber band too far. He described recent violent events in Alton as well as incidents going back decades as stretching that rubber band. He spoke Monday evening outside the Alton Housing Authority Office at 2406 Crawford Street in Alton. Gathered to listen were around 20 community members willing to listen and help.
Barham called on them to contact their elected officials, including the mayor and their city council representatives as well as appointed officials working inside city government. He described working for three decades at Olin Brass, saying he has never had a hand in constructing a bullet that was able to discriminate between rich and poor, black and white, or old and young.
“When will enough be enough?” Barham challenged. He asked where city officials were in this situation, adding that their presence was needed. He also called on Alton Police Chief Jarrett Ford to increase patrols.
“I don’t want to go to more protests and vigils,” he said. “I want all kids of Alton to grow up and be successful to make the city what it should be.”
A demand for increased policing from Barham garnered several head nods and claps. He called for the Alton Police Department to do more patrols and pull over more folks on traffic offenses, noting that word will spread of these patrols. He said “sometimes you have to ruffle the feathers of the right ones to get the wrong ones.”
Donald Mason-El spoke after Mr. Barham. He helped found Fly Mentorship, which serves the communities of Oakwood Estates and Alton Acres. He said nearly 100 kids from the area are a part of that group — including Shabrya, who he described as “a big sister” to her mentees.
“This one hurts bad,” he said of her untimely death.
He seconded Barham’s call of “enough is enough” and suggested that the Alton Housing Authority dip into its reserve funds to pay for gates around Oakwood Estates and Alton Acres. These proposed gates would feature cameras and a keypad. Only tenants would have codes to the gate, and the cameras would record who came through with codes outside of tenants and where those folks went following entering the premises.
He said such gates would have prevented him from having to consult with grief counselors again to comfort his mentorship groups. He said they were already needed earlier this year for another untimely death at Alton Acres. He said that the children being mentored through the program have to deal with the effects of poverty on their lives as well as the lives of those around them.
“We had to prep the kids already for this summer,” he said. “We have to prepare them to see folks in their 20s and even 30s who are acting in ways that are damaging to their psyche.”
Mason also said the current neglect of deterrence creates a climate of misbehavior within the community opening it up to criticism by folks who have wrong ideas about the situations they are criticizing. He implied many of the issues within Oakwood Estates are not created by folks who live there, but instead by folks who come there from outside. He said a gate with a code would keep tenants accountable for their guests and increase safety overall.
He also called for folks to contact folks they know with power, adding that many of them are his friends.
“Kids dying can sever friendships real quick,” he said.
If folks with power do not act upon suggested deterrents, Mason believes they are in some way benefiting from the crime and chaos. He said he believes they will find it in their hearts to do something, especially following the death of another child in Alton.
Shabrya’s family has been in contact with Mason, he said. He described phone calls of them sobbing for hours as he listened, hoping he could help. He said today was the first day Shabrya’s mother and older sister have eaten since the horrific incident occurred.
“Poor people have to hustle to bury their loved ones,” he said, highlighting another worry in the community following Shabrya’s death.
To help with that particular part of that tragedy, he said there will be a fish sandwich sale at the Oakwood Estates Rec Center from 6-9 p.m. Thursday evening as well as another one from 1-6 p.m. Sunday afternoon. Fish sandwiches will be $10 a pop and will not include sides, Mason said, adding the point of the event is not a pretty plate, but to fund the burial of a child.
Another fundraising method Mason plans to use is going to local black businesses and asking for support. He said he will make a list of supporters and those who refuse, adding some folks need incentive to care and a reminder of what truly matters.
After Mason spoke, Barham opened the floor to anyone assembled to speak for two minutes. One such speaker was Rita Dread-Young. She operates MOTHERS Unique, a group dedicated to helping mothers in our community who have lost their children. She lost her own son 33 years ago to gun violence. She said she offers healing, encouragement and support to women who have lost their children whether their deaths were violent or not. Like Mason, she complained that strangers come in and do crimes with guns, only to have Oakwood Estates get the dirt from it.
Creola Davis also spoke, saying that the family of Shabrya should not be forced to do a fundraiser to bury their child. She spoke of the pain suffered by members of Alton’s black community who often have to burden such traumatic tragedies alone. She said that folks deal alone because of a lack of resources and support. She said that stress is why her community suffers so many premature heart attacks and strokes. She said more folks need to work together instead of seeing each other as the enemy and that young men need alternative paths that don’t lead to the false gratification of gun violence.
Members of Shabrya’s family were supposed to be in attendance, but did not make it due to the time-consuming difficulties of both trying to plan a funeral for their child and answering questions in a criminal investigation regarding her death (they are not under suspicion). At the end, there was a small balloon release of blue star-shaped balloons, as blue was her favorite color.
Once the balloons were aloft, I spoke to former Alton Mayoral Candidate, Madison County Green Party Chair, and community advocate Joshua Young who told me that the APD is paid for supplemental patrols through the neighborhoods by the Alton Housing Authority, added they were toned down during the administration of former Alton Police Chief Marcos Pulido who is now Madison County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy. This was seconded by Mason and Lee Smallwood-Bey who said the patrols were toned down around 2019 due to discussions between APD and Alton’s black community, but said they were going to be reinstated in the future.
APD Chief Ford confirmed such patrols are ongoing and funded by the Alton Housing Authority. No one from the Alton Housing Authority was on site to comment during or following the event. We will be reaching out to them tomorrow to discuss their stance on crime deterrents as well as other ideas to ensure the safety of their tenants.
If you have any information regarding the July 4 shooting death of Shabrya, contact the Alton Police Department at 618-463-3505 ext 671. Anonymous tips can be left at 618-465-5948. They have announced they have a person of interest in the case, but have not named any names thus far.