Neighbors rally for girl, 8, slain in Little Village
Little Village residents and community organizers called for peace and mental health support for their neighborhood Saturday during a peace walk and memorial for Melissa Ortega, an 8-year-old girl fatally shot as she walked with her mom.
About 75 people marched along 26th Street chanting in Spanish, “Justice for Melissa,” “Peace in Little Village,” and “A stop to violence” in response to the march leader’s, “What do we want?”
They held animal-shaped balloons and some grasped their child’s hand as they walked. On Jan. 22, Melissa was shot in the head while holding her mother’s hand at the corner of 26th Street and Pulaski Road.
Emilio Corripio, 16, and Xavier Guzman, 27, were charged with murder in connection with Melissa’s death and were held without bond on Thursday.
Those marching stopped at Melissa’s memorial on the corner of 26th and Pulaski where they met dozens of others for a balloon release to honor Melissa.
Many held pink and white roses and pink, white and purple balloons as Baltazar Enriquez, president of the Little Village Community Council, and others prayed, sang and talked about the importance of community coming together and of the need for mental health services to address generational trauma.
Bringing residents out in solidarity shows those committing violence that the community won’t be scared to speak up, Enriquez told the Tribune after the memorial.
“It shows the love that we have for each other,” Enriquez said. “But it also shows that we’re not going to be quiet anymore, that the community won’t stay quiet. We will come out and report the crimes. We will come out if you attack Little Village or attack somebody in Little Village we will report the crime.”
Youth who grow up seeing violence become desensitized to it and get comfortable firing a gun and killing someone, Enriquez said.
“All they know is violence, violence, violence, violence, so the only way they know how to get their frustration out is by creating violence or doing violence,” Enriquez said. “And that’s what our youth showed when they killed Melissa is that they’re OK, they’re OK with killing somebody.
“It doesn’t move their heart, you know, they have no remorse. So when you have an individual that’s enjoying murder, then we have a serious psychological problem in the neighborhood.”
Enriquez said the Little Village Community Council
is working to open a mental health clinic with free services. He asked residents for their support in adding a referendum to the ballot to create a property
tax that would amount to, on average, $14 a year per household to raise funds for the new clinic. The council plans to ask local and state governments to match the community’s funds to help, Enriquez said.
Mariela Landero, who has lived in Little Village 20 years, said she decided to attend the event to show unity with other moms in asking for change.
“I’m scared of coming home one day without my daughter,” Landero said.
Over her years living in the neighborhood, violence has gotten worse, she said.
Landero had her 8-yearold daughter and 7-year-old son with her Saturday. She also has a 3-year-old.
Landero hopes Melissa is the “last child” to be cut down in violence.
“I don’t desire this on anybody. Losing a child is very hard.”
Landero said she recently had to have a talk with her 8-year-old about the dangers of violence.
“It’s very emotional. For my daughter, when I had to talk to her about gun violence, it was very emotional,” Landero said.
“She gets scared or she thinks that she might die, and I don’t feel like she should be thinking that. She should be able to go out, be free and be able to play with her friends without having to worry about something happening to her.”