Mourning loss of girl, 12, Hartford advocates urge again, ‘Stop the violence’

Just days after the death of 12-year-old Se’Cret Pierce, Hartford residents drove through the city’s streets Saturday, beeping and yelling out, “Stop the violence! Save our kids!”

The ride of solidarity was part of the Mothers United Against Violence 13th Annual March and Rally event. The event honors the lives of those lost to gun violence and provides support and comfort to the loved ones who are left behind.

But this year’s March and Rally came just as the city mourns the loss of Se’Cret Pierce, who was shot in the head Thursday night. The drive-by shooting wounded three others, police said.

Se’Cret, who was a seventh-grade student at Milner Middle School in Hartford, was pronounced dead at 7 a.m. Friday.

The line of cars, escorted by police, stopped at the Huntington Street location where police found Se’Cret. Participants in the rally got out of their cars and joined Rev. Henry Brown in praying for comfort and strength for Se’Cret’s family.

“We are remembering her. And we love her. She was our child as well as their child. … And we all feel this terrible loss is a terrible time in our community. It has to stop and we need to do better for one another,” he said.

During the rally at Keney Park, community members impacted by gun violence shared their experiences and their grief in losing a child so young.

Co-founder of Mothers United Against Violence Henrietta Beckman lost her son to gun violence 21 years ago. Still, she said, they must continue to spread the message to stop the violence.

“It touched me so I was no good the whole day. I felt like that was my child all over again. So you know, you got to stop all this violence, [There’s] something that each and every one of us can do. In the name of our children that were taken, this is what we owe them — to stop this violence, because they died senselessly. None of them deserve to be taken too soon. So we have to do everything that we can to try to prevent this from happening,” she said.

Mothers United Against Violence member Gloria Goodwin has lost three children due to gun violence. She said that she still feels the pain of those losses today.

“I knew Se’Cret really well. The last time I saw her, as she had on this wild wig and I said, “Where you going with that wig on, girl? Take that wig off your head. [With her] big earrings. I told her you are a little girl, take it off. She laughed at me,” she said.

Goodwin said that the one thing that she knew about Se’Cret was that she loved attending school.

“She loves school. If she couldn’t make it to school, she’ll call my granddaughter and my granddaughter will get up and take her to school. Whatever she needed, my granddaughter was right there for her, like a second mom. And I hate that this happened to her. And I just want to say, if you know something, say something. If you see something, say something, because it’s hard. The parents, they hurt the most,” she said.

Another member, Janice Hill, who lost her 23-year-old son to gun violence in 2015, said she saw Se’Cret at the hospital that evening.

“It’s sad that every year we have to come and do this, because our children’s lives were taken. Someone’s child was taken from us. … It’s time to put down these guns. It’s time to love one another. That 12-year-old-girl that was shot … it broke my heart to see her just lying there, lifeless. Her heart was beating, but her brain was gone. It’s sad to see a parent, a grandparent just sit there and watch their loved one just pass away. It’s hard,” she said.

In tears and full of emotion, Hill she said that she thought of her own 12-year-old granddaughter when she saw Se’Cret that night.

“You are taking people’s children away from them. The parents and grandparents are going through the hurt. It’s time to stop … killing our loved ones. I look at every child as my own child, because I said one day it could have been mine and it was mine,” she said.

She urged the community to put their guns down and pray.

Mothers United Against Violence leader Deborah Davis said that the families of those killed by gun violence suffer physically, spiritually and emotionally, all while trying to continue caring for themselves and their remaining family and children. Those who have been through it support each other.

“When we say we’re going to be here, we’re going to be there. …That’s why we’re here. We’re not here for us. We’re here for you,” she said.

A GoFundMe has been created in honor of Se’Cret Pierce for her family and can be found by searching her name.