Grand Crossing mass shooting victims’ family, activists call for direct support for families in $100 million crime-fighting fund

Markita Scott has spent every day at Comer Children’s Hospital for nearly two weeks, watching over her young grandsons as they undergo multiple surgeries and recover from gunshot wounds.

When one grandson asked for a Wendy’s Frosty, she got on the bus to buy him one, she said.

“I have my days where I cry, and I have my days when I’m OK, even when I may not be,” she said.

Jacoby Strong, 8, and Scottie Thomas Jr., 5, were critically injured in a July 4 shooting in the Grand Crossing neighborhood, Scott said. Two women were killed, including Scott’s daughter, Capri Edwards, when gunmen got out of cars in the 7100 block of South Woodlawn Avenue and sprayed the house with bullets, Chicago police said . Bryson Orr, 7, also died in the shooting .

A police spokesperson said Wednesday that there are no updates in the case, and that detectives are investigating.

Scott joined other family members and activists at a Wednesday news conference to argue that victims’ families should directly receive a quarter of the $100 million Chicago civic leaders recently raised for crime-fighting efforts following a violent Fourth of July holiday weekend . The money is slated to support on-the-ground programs, typically nonpolice intervention in communities at risk of violence.

“We cannot overlook the victims and families. Their need is immediate. Their trauma is real, and we support them during their healing and recovery,” said Tio Hardiman, an activist and founder of Violence Interrupters, Inc.

Hardiman said money shouldn’t be taken away from professional organizations, rather it should be shared with families who often incur expensive costs, from trauma support to hospital bills to relocation expenses.

An email to the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago for comment wasn’t immediately returned.

Scott, who’s grieving her daughter’s death, said she’s struggling with expenses. She started a GoFundMe to raise money for the funeral and support her grandkids.

Scott described Edwards as “very fun” and a great mom. She enjoyed basketball, pizza and hot sauce, she said. The duo were basically best friends, Scott said, and they FaceTimed frequently.

“It’s very difficult not to pick up the phone and call my baby because I mean every day we talk and sometimes we just lay on the phone while we watch TV,” she said.

Scottie is still in the intensive care unit and sedated, she said. He recently had a surgery to repair his stomach, she said, and he still has two or three more surgeries to go. Jacoby, who was shot in the face, also has another surgery lined up and is suffering from nightmares, she said.

Scott said Jacoby is a fan of Roblox and basketball, and enjoys spending time with his grandma. Scottie, on the other hand, is partial to dancing. Scott called him a “fighter.”

“They’re going to need a lot of therapy, a lot of counseling, a lot of love,” she said.

“(Scottie), he’s still laying there. And I pray with him, and he shakes like he’s angry because he can’t wake up on his own because he’s on the machine. That breaks my heart so bad,” added Alicia Scott, Markita’s sister.