BALTIMORE — "Long live Kelsey, she gone live through us, forever Kelz," said Corey, Kelsey Washington's uncle.
It’s the words family, friends, and loved ones chanted during a candlelight vigil on Wednesday evening.
That’s where they honored the life of 13-year-old Kelsey Washington who was killed after being caught in the crossfire of a gun battle.
"I was actually right there with her," Corey said.
Her uncle says the day Washington was shot in the head, he watched his niece be struck by gunfire.
"I was right there when it happened. She fell and hit the ground and I was on the ground with her," he said.
Loved ones say last Monday, just after 5:00 p.m., the teen was in the area near Caroline and Fayette Street raising money for her school dance team. That’s when a gun fight broke out between two men and Washington was struck in the head by a bullet.
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She died a week after that shooting and leaves behind five siblings. Now, loved ones are striving to keep her name alive through everyone who knew her.
"We just want Kelsey to continue to live through us," one person said.
"We want the world to remember about my niece the legacy she left, the 13 years that she was on this earth. She blessed a lot of people, she touched a lot of hearts and Kelsey was really really loved," Corey added.
Washington's dance team performed at the vigil, while many people wore shirts with her picture on them and released balloons in her honor. Others didn’t know her personally, but still showed up to support.
"I mean I have children of my own. We all have to understand we're all in this together. Our hearts just goes out to the family, the community and the city at large," Andre Bonaparte, a resident said.
Family and community members alike experienced the same concerns as it relates to the gun violence throughout Baltimore.
"The gun play, it needs to stop," Bonaparte said.
"I feel like the people in the community should know that the gun violence needs to stop now, if not yesterday, the day before that we are losing too many of our young children out young women and our young men to gun violence and it needs to stop," Corey said.
