St. Louis, MO — ST. LOUIS – Two St. Louis area mothers were murdered in front of their children this week.
Now another mom who knows that pain all too well is sharing her story in hopes of ending the violence.
"I hate it, I hate it. So much violence against women, black women in our city,” Ciara Bean said.
May 6, she brought her two little girls to meet up with her mom in Fairground Park. Her daughters ran to their grandmother’s car first and made a gruesome discovery.
“Granny’s dead,” one said.
Sherry Bean, 45, had been shot in the head.
The pain is hard to bear, especially for the girls.
"They're scared. They remember things. They remember her like that. They wake up screaming for her,” Bean said.
This week, Bean saw on the news two more mothers in the St. Louis area were gunned down in front their children. And she knows all too well the impact that violence has on the kids who witness it.
"My children have to be counseled because of this. And I know those children will have to be counseled because of this. It's horrible, and these kids have to grow up thinking violence is a way of life. No,” she said.
She said somehow, we all play a role in breaking the cycle of violence so other families don't have to feel this hurt.
"The community as a whole, we need to help these children,” Bean said.
5 On Your Side checked and the numbers show homicides in which women are killed appear to be trending down in St. Louis.
Last year 27 women were murdered in the city. We're about halfway through this year, and so far, 7 women have been murdered.
