Two Chicago Moms Were Killed in a Drive-by Shooting. They've Been Protesting Gun Violence for Years.

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Two mothers who had fought for years to end gun violence in their south Chicago neighborhood were killed in a drive-by shooting.

Friday night around 10:00 p.m., a blue SUV rolled by the street corner where two women — Chantell Grant, 26, and Andrea Stoudemire, 35 — usually protested with the community peace group, Mothers Against Senseless Killings (MASK), according to the Chicago Sun-Times. When someone shot into the crowd, Grant and Stoudemire were hit several times in the chest. They both died in the hospital, the Chicago police told Buzzfeed.

“For mothers to be killed in a place where mothers go to seek safety and sisterhood, I take that as a personal threat,” Tamar Manasseh, the founder of MASK, said at a press conference over the weekend. “Because when you come for one of us, you better believe they came for all of us.”

The killer fled the scene, and Chicago police haven’t made any arrests. Police also don’t have evidence one way or the other to suggest that Grant and Stoudemire were targets.

Another young mother was also shot this month close to the spot, according to Manasseh.

“Who’s next? I just keep thinking, ‘Who’s next?’” Manasseh told the Sun-Times. “It is terrifying. It is heartbreaking. I haven’t slept because I am trying to figure out how we can stop this.”

MASK was established to “put eyes on the street,” according to its website, in hopes that their presence will curb the needless violence and crime that plagues the city. The group had been hosting cookouts and activities for kids in the spot where the two women were shot since its founding in 2015, and Grant and Stoudemire had been members for two years, according to the Huffington Post.

MASK members created a GoFundMe petition, #StandAgainstFear, to seek justice and reward anyone with information about the mothers’ missing killer. Their goal was to raise $5,000, but as of Wednesday, the campaign reached over $15,000.

Cover image: A memorial stands at 75th Street and Stewart Avenue, in Chicago, Tuesday, July 30, 2019 where two women were slain in a drive-by shooting Friday night. (John Alexander/Chicago Sun-Times via AP) (John Alexander/Chicago Sun-Times via AP)