‘Grief has no boundaries’ family of 14-year-old shooting victim grieving a year later

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) - It’s been a year since 14-year-old Ciara Jackson was shot and killed in Mobile.

Police say the gunmen opened fire on the car she was riding in with her friends.

Jackson’s grandmother is still grappling with the tragedy.

“Grief has no boundaries. I don’t know when the tears will stop, they probably never will because I loved her unconditionally and so did her family,” said Freida Jackson. “Some of the hurt is so real that they want to take their own life and all I can say at this point is please stop the violence.”

She says in the midst of grieving, she’s spent the last year advocating for Ciara’s life and pleading with the community to stop the violence.

“You can’t put a time limit on grief. You can’t put a time limit on hurt. What I want to say to the youth of today is to put those durn guns down. Where were you? Be parents! Raise your children! Put these guns down! It’s wrecked my life,” she stated.

Jackson says gun violence wreaks havoc on more than just the families involved.

“Five of her classmates that were so touched by her...five of them flunked their 9th grade year. Three of them are in rehab. Two has tried to commit suicide several times. It doesn’t just affect one person, it affects the community,” she explained.

Last year, Mobile Sargeant John Young shared a raw message after Ciara’s death.

“There’s a subculture of gun violence in the city of Mobile with young black men, and it’s high time we did something about it. So no one has to be called a racist anymore. Our homicides- 19, 19, 18, 17, 16, 14, 11, 14 years old- were all Black children. When are we as a city going to wake up and say, ‘let’s address this issue?’” questioned Young.

Today, he’s clinging to his previous statement.

“There’s work to be done. I stand by what I said a year ago. I told the truth and I’ll tell it again. But now we’re in the phase of solving the problems. We stated the problem. Now we want a solution.,” stated Young.

In the past year, Sgt. Young and others launched Men United Against Gun Violence.

“One thing that Men United Against Violence came up with is that we’re gonna bury the “n” word. Once young black men see themselves as more than this disgusting word, they’ll treat each other better,” added Sgt. Young.

Meanwhile, Jackson is tackling grief one day at a time.

“I’m not gonna tell you that I’m gonna be any better next year. I’m gonna keep pushing. I’m gonna keep fighting,” said Jackson.

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