A cousin of NBA star Dwyane Wade was fatally shot Friday while pushing her baby in a stroller down a Chicago street.
The 32-year-old mom, Nykea Aldridge, was walking home after registering her children for school when she was caught in the crossfire of a gun fight, a family spokesman said.
Wade, a Chicago native who signed last month with the hometown Bulls after 13 seasons in Miami, tweeted, “My cousin was killed today in Chicago. Another act of senseless gun violence. 4 kids lost their mom for NO REASON. Unreal.”
Cops said Aldridge was killed when two men fired shots at a third man Friday afternoon. They missed and the bullets struck Aldridge in her head and an arm.
The baby was not injured. It was not immediately clear whether her other children witnessed the shooting.
Wade’s mother, Jolinda Wade, spoke about the tragic incident while embracing Aldridge’s crying mother.
“Just sat up on a panel yesterday . . . talking about the violence that’s going on within our city of Chicago, never knowing that the next day we would be the ones that would be actually living and experiencing it,” Jolida told ESPN.
“We’re still going to try and help these people to transform their minds and give them a different direction, so this thing won’t keep happening. We’re still going to help empower people like the one who senselessly shot my niece in the head.”
Speaking for the family, Pastor Edward Jones said that Aldridge was trying to improve her life.
“She loved God, loved her family,” Jones told NBC Chicago.
“Just like everyone else, just wanted a better life, to live a better life. This is tragic because now it struck home with us. Something has to be done. This has got to stop.”
Police say two men were being questioned.
Wade and his mother participated in an ESPN panel discussion on gun violence hosted Thursday by The Undefeated, an African-American sports and culture Web site.
Chicago has emerged as one of the most dangerous cities in the country.
Homicides jumped by 49 percent citywide this year, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Shooting incidents have risen by even more, the paper said, marking the third consecutive year of double-digit increases.