On a warm Tuesday night in West Peoria, Jordan Foley and his mother, Tina, were looking for someone to set an example for the rest of the community.
Many in attendance at a vigil at an apartment complex in the 1800 block of Lehman Road had been shaken by the news that a son of a friend, 12-year-old Jayden Norris, had been critically wounded six days prior in a shooting just steps away, and the Foleys wanted those in attendance to take advantage of the situation and use the shooting as a force for good in the community.
“You have to live to become a man,” Jordan said. “If you die at 14, 16 is not manhood! You ain’t got a size 14 shoe, but we going to make sure that you’re suited up in that casket! What price does it take for young men to lose a life and have all these people out here praying? It really doesn’t do any good. But we’re out here because he’s alive.”
Jordan and Tina came out Tuesday night to help the Norris family and their friends send a message about preventing incidents of gun violence such as what happened to Jayden. Their goal is simple: to ensure that something similar doesn’t happen to any other young person in Peoria or elsewhere.
“The goal is to kill people with kindness,” Tina said. “We don’t want to be victims. (We don’t want) the family to be victims, and we (don’t want) to victimize other people because of our trauma. If we kill them with kindness, love and support even though it’s hard and the world’s biggest chore, then you’re going to get a lot further in life.”
According to the Peoria Police Department, Jayden Norris was shot at 6:09 p.m. on June 4, with officers finding the 12-year-old with a gunshot wound to the stomach at the apartment complex. He was transported to OSF HealthCare Saint Francis Medical Center with serious injuries.
Jayden’s mother, Samantha Royer, said that she was just returning from a shift at a Holiday Inn in Peoria when she overheard her son and a friend having a heated conversation. Jayden said that his mother didn’t want guns in the house, but the friend didn’t seem to care and eventually shot him, according to Royer.
“All because my baby said ‘My mom don’t want guns in the house,'” Royer said.
No arrests have been made at this time, according to police.
Morris’ condition is improving at Saint Francis, with Royer saying that she was worried that he wouldn’t be able to walk after the shooting. However, he’s moving his legs now and could be out of the hospital within the next month.
“He’s doing amazing,” Royer said.
The Foleys, who split their time between Peoria and Chicago, largely work to try and prevent violence of the sort that impacted Jayden, with Jordan noting that they’re called out anywhere from 15 to 30 times a month in order to address gun violence. In this case, he noticed that many of Jayden’s friends and family were motivated to ensure that the streets were safe and what happened to Jayden doesn’t become a pattern.
“What seems to be on the scene is a large group of young men who seem to want to stand on that message vs. what’s typical, which is to retaliate,” Jordan said. “Here, I found a group of young men who are brothers, cousins, young men who support the young man who are actually open to standing on protecting the community with that energy instead of harming it or destroying it.”
The hope for everyone in attendance Tuesday night was to send positive energy not just to Jayden in his recovery, but to stem the tide of gun violence that impacts so many in Peoria and beyond. Royer said that she hopes people will ensure that their children won’t fall into a pattern of violence that can ruin lives and their community.
“Have a better hold on your kids,” Royer said. “Watch your kids, watch what they do, watch their social media. Be a parent. That’s all I ask – watch what your kids do. A lot of these parents know what their kids do and they’re okay with it. Now, my son is 12 years old and he’s in the hospital. We didn’t know if he was going to make it. Everyday, we keep praying.”
Friends of Jayden have set up a GoFundMe to help raise $5,000 for his family, with $1,152 having been raised as of Wednesday morning.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: ‘We keep praying’: 12-year-old boy shot in Peoria sparks effort to stop gun violence
Reporting by Zach Roth, Peoria Journal Star / Journal Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
