A devastated mother has spoken out following the death of her five-year-old son, who was shot dead during a drive-by shooting.
The shooting occurred Thursday in Winston Hills, Ohio, a small suburb of Cincinnati.
He saw Artagist Stanford III’s life snuffed out by a stray bullet, which hit him while he slept in a room he shared with his younger brother.
The projectile came within inches of his brother, said his mother Terrie Fahey. Police said they have not yet found a suspect and it is being treated as a homicide.
Artagist, better known as Arty, succumbed to his injuries two days later, his mother revealed that same day.
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The shooting occurred Thursday in Winston Hills, Ohio, a small suburb of Cincinnati, and saw the life of artist Stanford III snuffed out by a stray bullet. The boy, better known as Arty, is seen here.
His mother, Terrie Fahey, spoke to several media outlets on Saturday to reveal how the boy had died after two days in the hospital.
“Whoever did it, I hope they feel really bad and sick that they did it,” Fahey said. WLWT-5 through a steady stream of tears on Saturday.
“This has to stop,” he added, citing current crime rates.
“This really has to stop because innocent children are being killed for no reason and losing their lives before they can live them.”
‘They killed an innocent 5-year-old boy who was going to be something in life,’ he declared.
“And there was no reason for it.”
As he spoke, donations began to pour in. GoFundMe started earlier in the day – currently at $2,070.
The figure, however, is well below the family’s $20,000 goal.
The money, Fahey said, will go toward resting the child and caring for her two other children, a three-year-old boy and a one-year-old girl.
“Whoever did it, I hope they feel really bad and sick that they did it,” Fahey told WLWT-5 through tears Saturday.
‘They killed an innocent 5-year-old boy who was going to be something in life,’ he declared. “And there was no reason for it.”
Cincinnati Police Chief Teresa Theetge said her department had not yet identified any suspects and did not yet know a motive.
The devastated mother told the local media how grateful she was that her other son did not suffer the same fate as his brother, who was rushed to an emergency room at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, where he ultimately died.
“I thank God that my youngest son was not hit by the bullet,” said Fahey, who happens to work at the same hospital.
“My baby should never have been hit,” he added, before transmitting a message directed at the murderer or murderers of his firstborn.
“I would tell them that they are very sick in the head and that I don’t care what happens to you or what happens to you in the long term because you killed my innocent baby, which was what meant the most to me,” he told her. the reporter.
“And now his family members have to survive without him.”
Cincinnati Police Chief Teresa Theetge said her department had not yet identified any suspects and did not yet know a motive.
However, their investigation remains ongoing, he reiterated over the weekend, as the case is now being treated as a homicide following the boy’s death.
Meanwhile, a recent report from the Ohio Health Policy Institute shed light on the state’s crime problem after homicides peaked during the pandemic.
However, the investigation is still ongoing, he reiterated over the weekend, as the case is now being treated as a homicide following the boy’s death.
“My baby should never have been hit,” he added, before transmitting a message directed at the murderer or murderers of his firstborn.
“I would tell them that they are very sick in the head and that I don’t care what happens to you or what happens to you in the long term because you killed my innocent baby, which was what meant the most to me,” he told her. reporters
“And now his family members have to survive without him.” Here you see a bullet hole in the family home.
In the years since, local authorities have failed to bring incidents back to pandemic levels, with Columbus and Cleveland emerging as the state’s hot spots.
The report reiterated that two of the deadliest years recorded in Columbus were 2021 with 204 homicides and 2020 with 175 homicides, most of them carried out with firearms. That number dropped to 148 in 2023, still the third highest on record.
Cleveland, by contrast, had 192 homicides in 2020 and 165 in 2021, dropping to 152 in 2023, still well above average.
As for Cincinnati, it has fared slightly better than its sister cities, as officials have said crime is at an all-time low amid a steady decline in not only homicides but also violent incidents in general, observed since 2012.
Still, incidents of gun violence continue to plague Greater Cincinnati, as evidenced by four different shootings that occurred on the exact same day last month.
None of the four shootings were fatal and they took place in different neighborhoods of the city.
DailyMail.com contacted the Cincinnati Police Department for more information about the recent incident.