Prayer circle hoping that 15-year-old will not be another statistic to gun violence

SYRACUSE N.Y. (WSYR-TV) — Friends, family and others joined in prayer as 15-year-old Deron “DJ” McGee Jr. fights for his life after a near-death shooting earlier this week on Monday night, August 12, in Syracuse.

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The 15-year-old was found bleeding to death right in front of his grandmother’s home after being shot in the head. His uncle saw the severity firsthand and immediately rushed him to Upstate University Hospital, causing “chaos for the family,” said Mayra Arocho, the aunt of Deron “DJ” McGee Jr.

At Thursday’s, August 15, vigil, loved ones joined hands, leaning on shoulders and weeping in the same spot where the family shared so many memories.

Leading prayers, Kaleya Scott, associate youth pastor at God’s Temple of Faith Ministries, felt “the power of god, and that’s why when the grandmother asked me if I wanted to stand in the middle, I said we’re holding on. The Lord is here.”

As prayer concluded, DJ’s grandmother, Dorothy Huertas, reminded other teens in attendance to think twice before choosing the road to violence, stating, “The streets are not good. So try not to because you know what you might be like. Your grandmother, your mom might feel, so you know you’re hurting your grandparents, your parents, everybody.”

Worried about what will happen next, this community takes this gathering as a time to think about the kind of person DJ has been.

“He was a good helper, so he was always helping my dad. So when normal kids would be out doing things, he would be helping my dad cut grass. When he wasn’t doing that, he was helping watch his younger brother while his mom was working,” states Arocho.

Praying and hoping not only for DJ, but for the violence in Syracuse to come to an end.

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