Prayers Up: Deadly gun violence devastates family of 10-year-old victim
Article By Jamila Perkins // EEW Magazine // Gun Violence
Nyla Banks and her mother Antoinette were tragically murdered in St. Louis (Photo Credit: GoFundMe)
The children in your family may be safe and sound today, but that doesn’t mean you should forget to pray for families that don’t have the luxury you are enjoying.
A 10-year-old St. Louis resident was killed by senseless gun violence on Saturday, Aug. 24. She was found dead Sunday by local authorities, alongside her parents, in an apartment building.
The gruesome slayings of Nyla Banks, 45-year-old Antoinette Banks and 46-year-old Gene Watson III, according to St. Louis’s 5 On Your Side, have understandably rocked the family to its core.
“My sister, she's so young. She's just so young,” said Marquis Banks, brother of young Nyla who had just started the fourth grade at the Biome School, a private school she has been attending since Kindergarten.
Former teacher Brooke Bennett and Nyla Banks (Photo Credit: GoFundMe)
Brooke Bennett, Nyla’s Kindergarten and First Grade teacher, said, “My heart is forever breaking for her and Antoinette. I am at a loss of words for this sweet family.”
According to brother Marquis, the act of violence wasn’t random.
“My sister wasn't caught in the crossfire. Someone came in and murdered them,” he said. “It's a tragic time, it's just reflective everything that's happening in St. Louis.”
An Associated Press report said St. Louis has seen about 128 homicides this year, also on pace to top last year’s total of 186. The vast majority of those killed this year — 112 victims — were black in a city where about half of the 320,000 residents are black.
At least a dozen children have been shot to death in St. Louis since April, many of them in drive-by shootings, and the city is offering $25,000 rewards for information in five recent fatal shootings of children.
The Banks family was said to be very close. Sadly, they have been ripped apart by gun violence. Now, those left behind are wondering how to pick up the pieces of their shattered lives.
They have the prayers and well-wishes of all of us.
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help the family cover death-related costs. At the time of writing, more than $9,000 of a $10,000 goal had been reached.
