'I will never be ok. You broke my heart': Family mourns shooting death of 12-year-old girl
MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- The family of a 12-year-old Milwaukee girl mourned her loss at a vigil Tuesday night after she was gunned down on the city's north side Monday.
Olivia Schultz's mother was being treated for her own gunshot wound in the hospital when she was told her daughter had died from her injuries.
At a vigil Tuesday night, a young girl picked out a purple balloon to release because she said it was Olivia's favorite color. In a few days she'll have to bury her friend.
A member of the 414LIFE street team told the gathered crowd, "I pray for strength, I pray for peace, I pray for healing, I pray for justice."
The scene looked familiar to many throughout the city, but the pain is fresh for those grieving anew the victims of gun violence.
Celeste Wilson is Olivia Schultz's mother. She told the crowd, "She was the sweetest girl. She wanted to help people and be herself."
The glow of memorial candles lit the faces of family and friends. An aunt said, "You took my niece, and that's totally wrong. She was 12 years old."
The youngest of Celeste's six children, Olivia was gunned down Monday afternoon. Celeste said she and her husband and Olivia had just gotten groceries when they saw someone they didn't recognize near their home.
Celeste said, "I just ran into him in the alleyway. And they were suspicious because they were all in black with masks on. It was 6 'o clock."
After first walking away, Celeste said he turned and fired. Olivia was hit in the chest and later died.
Celeste told the crowd, "She's going to be missed, not just by me but by a lot of people."
Olivia was described as a party in a bottle, a sweet girl who helped with food drives at school and who played with neighborhood children on trips to the zoo.
Celeste says she was best friends with her 11-year-old cousin, who repeatedly tried to call Olivia the night she was killed.
Celeste said, "Today she had to find out that the reason why Olivia wasn't answering is because she's not here anymore. I had to tell my niece, who's 11 years old, that her favorite cousin is not here anymore."
According to the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office, Olivia is the 186th person killed in Milwaukee County so far this year, 10 more than at this time last year.
A friend of the family told the mourners, "Everybody needs to get involved. It's time to put them down."
Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson wants the shooter behind bars, saying the shooting is simply inexcusable.
In a statement, the mayor wrote, "Sadness is not the only emotion that I’m feeling and I’m sure so many other Milwaukeeans are feeling. The shooting death infuriates me."
Police records show the mayor was briefed on the shooting Monday night.
Milwaukee Police Chief Jeffrey Norman said MPD has some leads on who was involved in the shooting, but he did not elaborate.
Chief Norman said, "I would hope we all find some level of urgency and some level of understanding that we all have a responsibility to make our community safe."
As we spoke with Celeste, who is now another Milwaukee mother who will soon bury her baby, one of Olivia's sisters came up to us with a message for the killer.
She said, "They killed my sister. I will never be ok. You broke my heart."
Celeste Wilson says she will have the killer's face etched in her mind forever.
She was also shot during the same incident; that bullet remained in her chest Tuesday. She's delaying surgery because she wants to mourn her daughter first.