Janay McFarlane was shot and killed in a Chicago, Illinois, suburb on Friday, just hours after her 14-year-old sister Destini Warren sat behind President Barack Obama during his speech advocating gun control legislation. The 18-year-old Janay was the mother of a 3-month-old boy and in the process of graduating from an alternative school this spring, in hopes of getting into the culinary arts. McFarlane was with visiting friends and family when she was shot in the head around 11:30 p.m. Friday night. The bullet was reportedly meant for her friend. Nobody has been charged but at least 2 people are being questioned in the death of Janay McFarlane.
Destini Warren sat just feet away from President Obama at the Hyde Park Career Academy as he spoke about gun violence and the January shooting death of the 15-year-old honor student Hadiya Pendleton, paying tribute to the fallen teenager. Just like McFarlane's death, police have said that Pendleton's death was a "case of mistaken identity." Hadiya was a drum majorette who had recently performed at the President's inauguration. She was murdered about 1 mile from the Obamas' Chicago residence.
McFarlane's mother, Angela Blakely, stated that Janay was deeply affected by the shooting death of Pendleton:
"She always said after Hadiya Pendleton got killed, 'Momma that's so sad.' She was always touched by any kid that got killed. She was always touched by mothers who couldn't be there for their babies because they were gone."
Blakely continued, this time reflecting on the tragedy in which she has found herself:
"Every time I think about the way my child died it's hard to think about her dying like that because she didn't deserve it, she didn't deserve dying like that. I'm just really, truly just trying to process it -- knowing that I'm not taking my baby home anymore."
Destini Warren also made a statement about the loss of her older sister, saying:
"It really hurt me when I find out that it happened to my sister because I was just listening to... I was thinking about her dying when he was saying it and then later on they called me and told me it happened to my sister."
McFarlane is survived by her grieving mother and sister as well as her 3-month-old son. The above picture comes from her Facebook account. Before her death, Janay changed her middle name to "Proudmommie" on the website. Her profile page and pictures are already full of comments addressing the tragedy and how much she is missed.
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