A community is fighting back after a 12-year-old boy was gunned down Friday night on Cleveland’s east side.
Dozens of community activists and residents gathered at Buckeye Road and East 116th Street to protest the senseless killing of Abdel Bashiti.
The group started on the sidewalk in front of #1 Beauty Supply and Linen, then poured into the streets chanting, “No Justice, No Peace.”
According to police, five teenage boys were standing outside around 7:30 p.m. when three or four males started shooting.
Abdel and his dad were inside the beauty supply store, but came outside when they heard the commotion. When they went got back inside to safety—they realized the 12-year-old was hit.
“Bleeding here, bleeding there and blood all over himself and I couldn’t do nothing,” said witness Jamal Elayyan.
Elayyan works at the liquor store next door to the beauty supply store Abdel’s father owns. He says many of the wounded teens came into his store to take cover.
“A couple of them came inside and said, 'I got shot, I got shot, there’s a shooting outside,'” he said.
The peace rally that Elayyan was part of, lasted for about an hour. The message: The community needs to take a stand against gun violence.
“I’m not leaving my community, I love where we live, I love where I stay,” said resident Aaron Knuckles. “I’m part of the community and I’m part of the solution.”
