DUNDALK (WMAR) — A Baltimore mom who lost her son to gun violence a few years ago is sharing her experience in a new documentary, hoping to do her part to stop the violence.
“Invite others inside of grief so they can see exactly what it feels like to lose a child because a lot of people only can imagine what we go through,” said Angela Royster.
“The Aftermath” is a documentary in remembrance of her 23-year-old son Devin Rodgers, who was killed in Baltimore in 2019.
“My son was on his way home from work and he had on headphones so he didn’t know it was coming,” said Royster. “He was a protector. We called him the protector of the family.”
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Sunday, a group of her friends gathered for a viewing party of the premiere of the documentary, which gives a personal and heart wrenching look at the grief parents feel after losing a child.
“I call it the hurt that don’t stop hurting” said Steven Oglesby Sr.
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Oglesby is Royster’s childhood friend, also featured in the documentary because he knows this type of pain all too well.
“It destroyed me,” said Oglesby.
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His son Steven was 17 years old when he was gunned down in 2011.
“Everyone called him smiley. He had such a good spirit and such a good heart,” said Oglesby.
Royster thinks everyone should watch it, but she really hopes to reach the people who are picking up the guns.
“Maybe they would think twice… ‘I don’t want to do this because this could be my mom’ and this will be their mom in the lifestyle they are living. This will be their moms life. Their mom will be just like the one who took my sons life. He was murdered so his mom is where I’m at,” said Royster.
She’s also working on producing a similar documentary talking to parents of murdered children in D.C.
