Mother of boy, 4, shot dead while getting his hair braided at home in Chicago during bloody Labor Day weekend which left six dead and at least 60 injured pleads with public to help her find his killer
The Alabama mother of the four-year-old who was shot in a Chicago apartment is pleading for the public for help her find her son's killer after 66 were shot - six of whom died - over Labor Day weekend in the city.
Mychal 'MJ' Moultry Jr, four, was getting his hair braided when two bullets struck the boy in the head following several gunshots that broke the window in a drive-by shooting late Friday.
His mother Angela Gregg was not in the home at the time of the shooting, but his father Moultry Sr and a family friend, who was braiding the little boy's hair.
The unnamed family friend was injured by the shattered glass, but the father, who was near his son during the shooting, was left uninjured.
Moultry Sr reportedly his son in his arms until paramedics arrived, according to community activist Andrew Holmes.
Moultry was transported to Comer Children's Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on Sunday evening after being removed from life support.
Now, his mother Angela Gregg is pleading for help from the public to help find her son's killer.
'They murdered my baby,' she told the Chicago Tribune. When asked about the motive, Gregg didn't know, but she said: 'We just know our baby is not supposed to lose his life at four years old and somebody needs to step up and say something.'
According to Gregg, the case isn't moving forward because residents of the city aren't talking.
'People aren't answering their doors, and the people that are answering their doors are saying they don't know anything...Somebody in Chicago knows something,' she told the Chicago Tribune.
Mychal 'MJ' Moultry Jr, four, was shot twice in the head on Friday night in a drive-by shooting. He was taken off life support on Sunday
His father Moultry Sr (pictured left) was at the family home during the shooting, but was uninjured. The unnamed family friend was injured by shattered glass. Moultry Sr reported held his son in his arms until paramedics arrived to take the boy to Comer Children's Hospital
Moultry Jr was preparing to go to kindergarten and his teachers called him 'brilliant.' His mother Angela Gregg is now pleading with the public to help find her son's killer
A day after the shooting, a poster, written in marker, reportedly went up stating: 'Stop Killing Our Kids.'
Sixty-six people were shot over the weekend, leaving eight children injured, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. Six have since died from their injuries.
A few after the poster went up, star-shaped balloons and a stuffed dinosaur appeared outside the window of the 6500 block of South Ellis Avenue apartment building Moultry's family was staying at. A makeshift memorial went up in front of the boarded-up window of the garden apartment.
Two women in the parking lot of the apartment complex expressed how they hoped the upper floor surveillance cameras had caught the shooter.
'That's a baby. A baby,' the one woman said to the Chicago Tribune.
'A baby that didn't even have a chance to see kindergarten, first grade, cuss nobody out, play with nobody, get in trouble in school. Like...how you going to something at nine o'clock at night?,' the other woman agreed.
Police have since recovered 27 shell casings from a .45-caliber handgun and a 5.7mm mini rifle, according to the Tribune.
As of Monday afternoon, no one has been charged.
At least 68 people were shot, and a four-year-old boy killed, during bloody Labor Day weekend in Democrat-run cities across the country. In Chicago alone, where four-year-old Mychal Moultry Jr. died after being shot in his bed
A sign covered in Paw Patrol stickers, red and blue handprints, and the words 'Stop Killing Our Kids' written in marker appeared outside the window of the apartment Moultry and his family were staying at, as well as, star-shaped balloons and a dinosaur stuffed animal
No one has been charged since Monday afternoon, but Mayor Lori Lightfoot and the Chicago Police Department are encouraging citizens to come forward with information to help stop gun violence in the city
Mayor Lori Lightfoot said last weekend's violence was driven by people who 'have absolutely no regard for the sanctity of human life.'
Mayor Lightfoot and the Chicago Police Department are pleading with the public to come forward with any information and to cooperate with police to end the trial violence invoked on the city.
Community activist Andrew Holmes, his foundation, St. Sabina Parish, and All Kids Matter Foundation are offering a $9,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the boy's killer.
As the family grapples with the devastating loss of their son, his mother reminisced about her 'gifted' son.
Major cities, including Atlanta, Portland, Chicago, New York City, Los Angeles and Philadelphia have seen their increases in homicides and shootings. Chicago's murder rate has gone up three per cent, despite crime being down six per cent
Gregg described her son as gifted and the family was reportedly preparing to send the four-year-old off to kindergarten.
'They his said he was brilliant. He was able to read and write. He knew all his numbers. He knew his additions. He was just so advanced,' she told the Tribune.
The family has since launched a GoFundMe page to help 'raise awareness and get justice for my baby,' Gregg wrote on the site, titled her fund 'MJ The Great.'
Almost $11,000 of the $15,000 has been raised for MJ the Great in just one day.
As of August 31, there were 524 murders throughout Chicago, raising the total three per cent compared to the 510 in 2020. Felony sexual assault is up 25 per cent since last year, and theft and vehicle threat are up 10 and three per cent, respectively. Robbery, aggravated battery, and burglary have been declining since last year.
However, crime is down six percent since last year in the city.
Daily Mail contacted the Chicago Police Department, but did not hear back in time.