Mother loses fourth child to gun violence

HELP OTHER MOTHERS

In 1995, Chambers' son Carlos, 18, whom she described as a "very bright, outgoing young man" who was good at math, was shot dead while walking in Chicago's South Loop.

The next child she lost was Jerome, 23, "handsome" and "respectable," who was shot and killed in April 2000 outside of a Cabrini-Green housing facility. He had just secured a job in construction.

Family photographs are arranged to show, clockwise from top left; Ronnie Chambers at his brother Jerome's funeral in July 2000, Carlos Chambers, Jerome Chambers and LaToya Chambers, at the home of their mother Shirley Chambers in Chicago, Illinois, Jan 30, 2013. [Photo/Agencies]

Just three months later, a 13-year-old boy shot and killed her 15-year-old daughter LaToya steps from where Jerome died. "LaToya was so cute," Chambers recalled. "She had the prettiest smile. She was just everything to me."

Ronnie Chambers, an artist who loved banana shakes and onion rings, had spoken publicly about his past in a gang.

The Chicago Police Department said his arrest records total well over 100 pages.

But Shirley Chambers' sister, Dorothy Wayne, bristled when Shirley Chambers was asked about her son's criminal past. "In his 34 years on earth, there was nothing he could have done to make them blow half of his face off," Wayne said. "Nothing. Nothing. He didn't deserve it."

Shirley Chambers said her son was trying to turn his life around after experiencing the death of his siblings and seeing other violence in Chicago.

That was his intent when he took Chicago rapper and gang member YK, short for Yung Killa, under his wing and spoke about his gang past during an appearance on 'The Ricki Lake Show' in December.

"He's got unbelievable talent," Ronnie Chambers said on the show. "I'm just trying to keep him on the right track."

Ronnie Chambers' murder happened just three blocks from St. Agatha Catholic Church. Parish priest Larry Dowling said he has been trying to reach out to the family to help.

"My experience with the neighborhood, it's really the lack of jobs, the lack of education and skills for the few jobs that are out there, the woefully inadequate public school system, and I just think the overall justice system," Dowling said. Those who have trouble with the law, he said, are hard pressed to find jobs once out of jail.

Although Chicago has some of the toughest gun control laws in the nation, Dowling says the lack of effective control - including tracking who purchases guns - contributes to the violence, as does domestic abuse.

Chambers said her children were victims of circumstance, caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. These days, she counts on her faith in God and support from family and friends to encourage her.

She broke into tears talking about how hard she worked to take care of her children, and said she'd like to help other mothers who have lost their kids to violence. She said she'd like to reach out to Hadiya Pendleton's mother, to comfort her.

"To have to bury all your children, all of them, it's hard," said Chambers. "My life will never, ever be the same again."

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