Just a few days into their summer, kids at the Sterlingshire Apartments in Dallas' Pleasant Grove are releasing balloons rather than playing ball after a 13-year-old boy was killed.
Wednesday night, Malik Tyler was at the convenience store next door when he was hit by a stray bullet during a gunfight that broke out as he was leaving with friends.
Family, friends and community leaders gathered to call for change in the wake of a string of violence across the city. Malik's death marked the fourth teen killed in just five days.
"These things happen here everyday, but no one pays attention to it until now. So I hope it goes worldwide, nationwide that we do something to help our black children in this community because gun violence… Look at what happened. My son died here yesterday," Malik's mother Tina Tyler said.
Tyler was bolstered by faith leaders from the neighborhood echoing the message now shared several times in a year with more than 90 murders.
Bishop J. Lee Slater was one of several who called for a stronger police presence, but he told those gathered that the community must also play a role in curbing violence.
"It's all of our responsibility. If we see wrong, let's report it. If you can't step up and resolve the issue, get someone who can. But most importantly, support one another. That's what it’s all about," Slater said.
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The most emotional plea, however, came from one of Malik's friends who's learning the sting of loss and the true impact of violence at the very beginning of his teenage years. [[510894731,C]]
"I just want to say I love everybody. Can y'all just shut it down? Please stop the violence. There's too many people getting hurt in Dallas," MaQuesta Martin Jr. said.
Shortly before Wednesday's vigil, Dallas police arrested 21-year-old Datrail Clayton and charged him with Malik's murder.
