Local mothers take to Legislative Hall to tell their sons’ stories, demand change

DOVER, Del. – Four mothers, four different stories, one plea for justice.

“My son was shot in the community, which we grew up since pampers,” said Orbby Holder’s mom, Tikeysha Holder.

“He was killed on April 14th. he was gunned down in broad daylight by three men,” said Cory Mumford’s mom, Tesha Horsey.

“He was shot [at the] apartments. They have yet to find his killer,” said Deshawn Blackwell’s mom, Lisa Blackwell.

“Daquan Lake was murdered on November the 26th. 3:33 was his death time; he was left on the road to bleed out. He was shot,” said Lake’s mom, Sharhonda Lake.

The moms didn’t know each other, but what brought them all together was the tragic deaths of each of their sons.

Many of the young men we’re killed within the last year. Blackwell uses one word to describe the journey to justice for her son, Deshawn.

“Long,” Blackwell said. “I don’t do anything. I have bad anxiety, PTSD, my son was everything to me,”

“He was in a wheelchair. I took care of him, and they just took my child and acted like it was nothing and no one’s doing anything,” Blackwell added.

Orbby Holder’s mom has had boots on the ground in their community, on the search for answers, since her son’s murder.

Yet, she said without witness testimony, her son’s killer will not be held accountable, and her grandson will have to grow up, wondering what happened to his beloved father.

“I feel like I’ve been shot,” Holder said.

“It’s just unbelievable how where we come from, the love that we’re supposed to have for one another as a community, that they can see this happen and shun to it, not do anything, not say nothing,” Holder added.

All four moms point to gun violence as the culprit.

Lake said while the police have made one arrest for the murder of her son Daquan, she still believes that without addressing the issue at hand, more homicides are bound to take place.

“We’re losing kids every day to gun violence,” Lake said. “They allow these guns, but they don’t have any consequences for when they use them.”

And when another life is taken, Blackwell said the wound reopens.

“When someone else’s child dies, it’s like my child dies all over again. It’s hard,” Blackwell said.

As the moms continue their search for answers for their sons, Horsey urges you to take a step back, and see things from her perspective.

“You don’t want this to happen to you. You don’t want it to be your baby next,” Horsey said.

“If we don’t stop this now, it’s very likely that the next time we gather here, you may be one of the mothers standing here, crying for justice,” Horsey added.