Family Of 5-Year-Old Shooting Victim Laylah Peterson Decides To Donate Her Heart
Following the shooting death of 5-year-old Laylah Peterson, the young girl’s family has decided to donate her heart to another child, Reuters reported. At a press conference this past Saturday, Milwaukee Police Chief Ed Flynn held up a picture of Laylah promising he would keep it close to his heart right next to pictures of his own grandchildren "until those guys go to jail."
"She's going to be in our hearts, like her little baby heart is going to be in somebody else's," Flynn told reporters. "She will always be remembered — not just by her family, but by that family that she has given her little heart to.”
On Thursday, a dozen bullets ripped through the walls of the Peterson home in Milwaukee. Laylah was shot in the head while sitting on her grandfather’s lap. Although police currently have no information on a motive or suspect, they do not believe her family was being targeted for any reason. They are now searching for one or more handguns and one or more suspects, FOX6NOW reported.
The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms is issuing a reward for up to $5,000 for any information on the suspects. Laylah is the 11th child under the age of 13 to be shot in Milwaukee this year. The Peterson family held a vigil for Laylah outside their home on Sunday. Police, first responders, and the Krause Funeral Home donated to the cost of Laylah’s funeral on Wednesday.
"The whole city is grieving with the family," Mayor Tom Barrett told the Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinel. Barrett called Laylah's death "an unspeakable tragedy."