BALTIMORE — Nearly a week ago, a 9-year-old child with a loaded gun walked over to a house on Linnard Street in Southwest Baltimore.
While several people were outside on Aug. 6, the child fired a shot that killed 15-year-old Nykayla Strawder.
Strawder’s family is not only grieving, but also feeling they are not getting the answers they believe they deserve.
Maryland law states that children younger than 9 years old can’t be charged.
Strawder’s family called a press conference Friday to address some of the issues with the case.
“We are standing here as a family not looking to pit each other against each other but to be clear that we do need help,” said Reynard Parks, Nykayla’s cousin. “This is something no family could ever prepare for.”
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Parks, who led the press conference, said there are fundraising pages out where money is not going to the correct places.
He also said Baltimore City Police Department has been lacking in proper communication.
“This has caused us some issues with the case in being able to support the rest of the family and also her two sisters and little brother,” Parks said.
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According to family, Strawder lived with her great aunt, Donyette McCray, her guardian, for eight years. She had three siblings who continue to ask questions about where Nykayla is.
“The are having nightmare, asking questions, why? Why did this happen? Can we bring her back? It’s hard,” McCray said. “I told them she is in Heaven and she is an angel watching down on them.”
“Devastating. Hurt. No justice,” great uncle Darryl Jarvis said. “It’s like we are supposed to let it go and have pity for the family that caused this. Everything we’ve asked questions about, we’ve been shut down.”
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The family put on the press conference to clear the air, plus to ask for justice for Nykayla.
However, the biggest thing the family wants is proper communication by the police department during the investigation.
Police said the child was playing with a loaded gun from a female relative, who was an armed security officer, around 8 p.m. on Aug. 6, and walked to Strawder’s home before “accidentally” pulling the trigging.
Parks, and the rest of the family, continue to say it was no accident, and the family should face the consequences.
“All the communication up until this point has been to tell us that it was a mistake, they have no evidence to prove such other than to say that the gun had to clip, but the gun was still shot, and someone was able to take a gun, from an adult, and walk to our family’s home and point it, and it was still shot,” Parks said.
Strawder’s family is asking police to stop calling the deadly shooting an “accident,” even though it is classified as a homicide.
In 2022, 24 teens have been murdered, including two 15-year-olds.
“Regardless if a young child knew how a gun works, he still had it in his hands,” Parks said. This was a homicide. Unfortunately, it happened by a child, and we are expecting accountability. We are asking for the proper information moving forward with the proper civil case we can take for proper justice for our cousin, and we need it fast.”
The proper GoFundMe for the family is here.
