Relatives of Ariana Molina, 9, slain in mass shooting, call for justice in unsolved homicides
Jose Molina (in pink), father of Ariana Molina, stands with families demanding the Chicago Police Department resolve the killings of their relatives outside Area 1 police headquarters in Fuller Park, Wednesday, May 8, 2024.
Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
Nearly 30 heartbroken relatives of loved ones whose slayings remain unsolved assembled outside a South Side police headquarters Wednesday morning imploring detectives to push harder.
“When we don’t get no justice, we don’t get no peace," they chanted in English and Spanish pacing outside Area 1 police headquarters, 5101 W. Wentworth Ave., some grasping signs. “What do we want? Justice. When do we want it? Now.”
Among those looking for answers were relatives of Ariana Molina, the 9-year-old girl killed last month in a Back of the Yards mass shooting that wounded 10 others, including her two young cousins, who remain hospitalized weeks later, according to relatives.
"We need justice for my daughter," Jose Molina told the Chicago Sun-Times. "We need to make sure this doesn’t happen to anybody else."
Baltazar Enriquez, the director of the Little Village Community Council, told reporters the police department should solve its cases as quickly as it cleared the shooting death of Officer Luis Huesca, who was killed on his way home in Gage Park after his shift late last month.
“Some of these mothers have been waiting two years for justice,” Enriquez said. “Officer Huesca’s mother, all she needed was 10 days.”
Police invest more resources when it's one of their own, while Ariana did not have as much attention, Jose Molina contended.
"That's why we're here," Molina said.
When asked at a news conference announcing charges in the officer's death whether the department invests the same time and resources in other gun violence cases as was done for Huesca, Snelling said the department "works in the same fashion, with the same vigor to bring justice to every family."
"It's not just because this was a police officer; this was a human being," Snelling told reporters Friday. "We know that anyone who loses someone to gun violence suffers as much as any other family, and that's including police families.
"Because [the case] is high profile, there are people who are willing to step up and pass on information to us," Snelling said Friday. "I can guarantee you the work that is being done on cases that are not as high profile, the same level of work is going into it."
Police said the mass attack that claimed Ariana was likely gang-related, though her father fiercely denies that anyone in his family is associated with gangs.
"She was everything to me, she was my only daughter," Molina added. "We'll go through whatever we have to do, but she's gotta have justice."
Representatives from the Little Village Community Council, Mothers and Families United for Justice were among those in attendance who want to sit down with top officials like Snelling and Mayor Brandon Johnson to bolster their case.
A good start, according to Enriquez, would for police to improve the way they communicate and collaborate with the families of the victims, who often feel helpless.
"You're never going to bring back their loved one, especially when it's a child," Enriquez told the Sun-Times. "[Justice] gives [families] some type of peace because now they're gonna see that other families are not gonna go through what they went through."
Others on hand at the morning meeting held signs and photographs of their lost relatives, including Adam Moreno, Jesus Brant Jr., Angelito Malik Hurtado, Miguel Angel Guel-Gonzalez, Jessica Castro and Kobe Puga — all of whom were killed in street violence in the city.
A supporter for Dexter Reed, who was shot and killed by Chicago police March 21, was also there.
Some, like Lisa Brant, have been waiting years for a conviction or an arrest.
"I lost my brother two years ago, and like these cases, we have no answers yet," Brant told reporters. "We're not here looking for any negative vibes or any negativity, we just want answers for our cases."
We're here peacefully, but inside we're broken," Brant added.
Eduardo Lopez, one of Ariana's uncles, has struggled navigating through the weeks following Ariana's death.
"Every night I try to sleep and all I can really do is think about her," Lopez, 31, told the Sun-Times. "Every time we go visit my sister, all my other nephews come up, but my niece just isn’t there."
"We all have to stick together and protest and convince officers they're supposed to help us," Lopez added.
Ariana's family wore pink shirts — one of her favorite colors — and held signs with her picture on it.
One relative told the Sun-Times that most of Ariana's belongings are still at their home.
Antonio Molina wants to remember his niece as someone who "always took care of you.
"We don't want her to be just a number," Antonio Molina told the Sun-Times. "It would hurt for her to become another statistic."
"Today it was our niece, tomorrow it could be someone else's niece, someone else's daughter."
Police say they've recorded 160 homicides in Chicago through May 7. Of those, 120 cases — or 75% — were cleared so far, according to the department.
Under departmental policy, detectives are allowed to clear a case when the suspect is dead, prosecutors refuse to make a charge or police believe they know who did it but don’t make an arrest.
