Children and teenagers aged two to 16 died from gun violence within the city limits of St Louis, Missouri: ‘These are our kids’

The 13 children killed by guns in one US city in six months

The 13 children killed by guns in one US city in six months

Kayden Johnson, aged two

Date killed: 30 April

Kayden Johnson was found dead alongside his mother, Trina’ty Riley, 18, inside their home. His father, Elijah Johnson, was heading to work when he got a call that his son and the mother of his child were killed. “He was uplifting, always smiling,” Johnson told local TV news station KMOV4.

Kristina Curry Photograph: via Gun Memorial's website

Kristina Curry, 16

Date: 23 May

Kristina Curry was found with multiple gunshot wounds in an alley near Roosevelt high school, where she was a student until she withdrew in April. Her mother, Christian Curry, said that her daughter was planning to move to Dallas with her. “Her spirit was always high. She loved family. She loved to garden,” she told the local news station KSDK.

Curry said that she hopes that justice will be brought to her daughter. “I just want the killing to stop. I just want it to stop. These are our kids.”

Child victims map Guardian graphic | Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Jashon Johnson, 16

Date: 8 June

Jashon Johnson was found with multiple gunshot wounds near Fairground Park on the city’s north side. He was not conscious or breathing when police found him and was pronounced dead when he was taken to a hospital.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Kennedi Powell Photograph: via Twitter user @JeffBernthal

Kennedi Powell, three

Date: 9 June

Gunfire rang out from a car driving past when Kennedi Powell was outside playing and eating pizza with friends from the neighborhood. Kennedi was killed and a six-year-old neighbor was injured in the shooting. “That baby was three years old. She didn’t even get a chance to live her life,” her grandmother, Tracy Wafford, told a local news station.

Charnija Keys, 11

Date: 10 June

Charnija Keys was found by police shot in the head at her home. She was brought to the hospital, where she died. St Louis police said a suspicious death investigation is under way.

Myiesha Cannon, 16

Date: 12 June

Myiesha Cannon, 16, was at her next door neighbor’s house when she was shot and killed. Officials are calling the incident a “suspicious death”. Family said they will remember Myiesha for her big smile and personality. She would have started 10th grade in August.

Derrel Williams, 15

Date: 26 June

Derrel Williams was found lying in the street with multiple gunshot wounds at 3am in critical condition. He was taken to a hospital, where he died the next day.

Eddie Hill, 10

Date: 19 July

Eddie Hill was shot when he was on the porch with his family on a Friday night. Police say shots were fired toward the house by a passing vehicle. No one but Eddie was hurt.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Xavier Benjamin Jacobi Usanga Photograph: Courtesy the Usanga family

Xavier Usanga, seven

Date: 12 August

Xavier Usanga was shot when he was playing with his sisters in an alley near his house. He was due to start second grade the day before he was killed.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Jason Eberhart Photograph: Courtesy of the Eberhart family

Jason Eberhart, 16

Date: 18 August

Jason Eberhart was found with multiple gunshot wounds in a parking lot. Known as JJ by his family, he was a rising star on his high school’s football team. “He had so much spirit, so much potential, so much going for him at such a young age,” Bryan Kimble, his uncle, told a local news station.

Jurnee Thompson, eight

Date: 23 August

Jurnee Thompson was killed after shots were fired at a football jamboree at the local high school. Thompson was with her family, including her two teenage cousins who were injured in the shooting. Her father said Thompson was allowed to attend the jamboree as a reward for good behavior. “She was the light of the house,” he told the local news station.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Jurnee Thompson Photograph: via Gun Memorial's website

Nyla Banks, 10

Date: 24 August

Nyla Banks was found dead at her apartment alongside her parents, Antoinette Banks, 45, and Gene Watson III, 46, who were also murdered. She had just started fourth grade days earlier. “She’s a bubbly spirit. We call her Nana the dancer, because she loves to dance,” her cousin, Cheryl Coleman, told a local news station.

Sentonio Cox, 15

Date: 25 August

Sentonio Cox was found with multiple gunshot wounds in a lot down the street from his home. His mother, Roxyzanna Edwards, told a local news station that Sentonio was the second of her six kids to have been victims of gun violence. “I really can’t explain, it’s like a nightmare that you can’t get over, like a bottomless pit,” Edwards said.

Police have charged a 54-year-old man for first-degree murder in connection with Sentonio’s death.