Trenton community mourns 9-year-old girl killed in shooting
TRENTON, N.J. - Members of the Trenton community gathered Sunday afternoon to release balloons in remembrance of SeQuoya Bacon-Jones, the nine-year-old who was shot and killed at Kingsbury Square late Friday night.
Police responded to reports of gunfire around 7:30 Friday evening after arguments and fights broke out in a large group. When police arrived on scene, a 9-year-old girl, later identified as Bacon-Jones, was found suffering from a gunshot wound.
Bacon-Jones was transported to Capital Health Regional Medical Center where she was pronounced dead around midnight.
Shirelle Jones, Bacon-Jones’ aunt, says that this sort of gun violence has no place in this city and that it's "unbelievable" that kids are not safe to play outside.
"She was energetic when she came into a room. She was always happy. She didn't deserve none of this," she said.
Trenton Mayor Reed Gusciora said that people often congregate in the common area between apartment buildings at Kingsbury Square where Jones was shot.
"It’s just a real shame to cut down someone so innocent and so much alive. Our hearts go out to the Parker School. This little girl was such a sweetheart, and I’ve been speaking with people in the community about how much of a bright future she had ahead of her," he said.
Parker Elementary School, where Bacon-Jones attended fourth grade, have activated the district’s crisis response team and they will have grief counselors available to support the school community today.
Police say the large crowd that was gathered the night of the incident makes it difficult to pin down the shooter, but they are working on leads and they are urging anyone with information to contact the police.
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