Two Chicago mothers, Chantell Grant and Andrea Stoudemire, were shot to death Friday night on the corner of 75th Street and Stewart Avenue. Located in Chicago’s South Side, Mothers/Men Against Senseless Killings (MASK) is a place where mothers frequently bring their kids to hang out and play. Why? It’s an effort to end gun violence and create a safer space for their community. The hope is that their presence will reduce violence in the area.
Let that sink in. Grant and Stoudemire—for no known reason—were shot and killed in the same space where they actively try to prevent gun violence.
Here’s what we know so far. As reported by BuzzFeed News, according to local police, a blue SUV drove up to the sidewalk around 10 PM ET Friday night. A witness told the police the occupant of the car fired several shots. The result? Both women were shot several times in the chest. They both died at the University of Chicago Medical Center. In addition to the two mothers, a 30-year-old man was shot in the arm. He walked into St. Bernard Hospital, where he was reported as being in stable condition.
“For mothers to be killed in a place where mothers go to seek safety and sisterhood, I take that as a personal threat,” Tamar Manasseh, founder of MASK, said at a press conference. “Because when you come for one of us, you better believe they came for all of us.”
"It is sacred ground, as far as we're concerned," Maria Pike, a MASK member, told ABC 7 in an interview. "This was a haven that was built by moms."
“Haven” seems to be exactly the right word. Grant, who was a 26-year-old mom of four, and Stoudemire, a 35-year-old mom of three, hosted barbeques in the spot during the summer. They also reportedly offered guidance and counseling to community members.
“We have no evidence that we can point to that suggests the women were the intended targets,” Anthony Guglielmi, police spokesperson, noted in a statement. “We also have no evidence to the contrary.”
Police said the investigation is ongoing. No arrests have been made, and they don’t know the motive.
According to Chicago 5, this block had gone four years without a shooting—until this senseless crime.
A GoFundMe petition from MASK has raised almost $10,000 as of Tuesday. The reward is for information leading to the capture of suspects in Grant and Stoudemire’s deaths.
"The murder of a woman brought us to our corner on 75th & Stewart so there's no way we're going to let the murder of more moms drive us away," the GoFundMe reads in part. "We deserve to live without fear and the young women, Chantell Grant and Andrea Stoudemire, who were torn from their children families tonight, deserve justice."
Heartbreaking doesn’t begin to cover it.