COLUMBUS, Ohio — Federal data shows that homicide is the third-leading cause of death for people aged 10 to 24.
What You Need To Know
- LaTonya Nichols lost two children to homicide in two years
- Mothers of Murdered Columbus Children Organization offers support to mothers dealing with loss
- Nichols says the group has helped her and other mothers dealing with tragedy
The site gunviolencearchive.org shows 158 Ohioans between 12 and 17 have been killed this year, which is a decline from last year.
In central Ohio, some are seeing a very different trend. In the month of October, four teenagers were killed in Columbus and the city reports at least nine people under 18 have died by gunfire so far this year.
LaTonya Nichols has always enjoyed being a mother. She has treasured every picture and every moment with her kids.
“These are my two angels,” said Nichols. “Nofeir and A'Tayia were both stolen, two years apart. We would walk every day and end our trip at Resch’s Bakery and get two huge donuts, then walk back home.”
Those walks came to a halt in October of 2020. Nofeir became one of the 180 homicides Columbus experienced in 2020.
Nichols said she found out about her son's death through social media.
“My son snuck out of the house to go to his friend's house,” said Nichols. “He never came home. I found out from Instagram that my son was dead, but it wasn’t confirmed until 9:00 so from 6 to 9 I drove to every hospital in Columbus, Ohio, to find out I had to meet a detective at the morgue. It's been sleepless nights. My baby is gone. That was my best friend, I don’t even know how to go to Resch’s anymore.”
Two years later in June of 2022, she witnessed her daughter A'Tayia being gunned down. A'Tayia was 24 and a mother to a 3-year-old boy.
“He turned around and shot her less than a foot away from her,” said Nichols. “Heart shot. I watched my daughter take her first breath and I watched her take her last. This gun violence has to stop.”
Once a mother of six, Nichols is now only a mother of four.
But she's found a community of other mothers who share her trauma and pain.
She shares her grief with friends like Shawna Brady in the Mothers of Murdered Columbus Children Organization. Both women said that the group has been an anchor for them as they navigate their life with loss.
“Everything I’m going through, my sister is going through. Everything she’s going through, I'm pretty sure I'm going through it and we reach out because that's what sisters do,” said Nichols.
“Even though all of our sisters' situations aren’t the same, we still have that bond of trauma,” said Brady.
Both mothers said that they have one message: think, breath and count to five.
“How many times have you ever been mad at somebody and you sounded five seconds and you think about that in five seconds, are you still going to be mad?” said Nichols.” Are you that mad that you want to shoot that person? Give yourself five seconds before you pull the trigger, I bet you won’t. Five seconds.”