'Enough is enough': Family, community gathers for wake of slain six-year-old girl
The casket for Aniya Allen, 6, lies open during her wake at Shiloh Temple in north Minneapolis. (FOX 9)
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Family and community members are getting ready to say good-bye to six-year-old Aniya Allen, who was shot and killed by a stray bullet while riding in her family's car last month.
The atmosphere was heavy inside Shiloh Temple International Ministries during her wake Tuesday afternoon.
"Every family needs angels," said KG Wilson, Aniya’s grandfather, and a longtime community activist. "And I believe the babies and the young children that are in our families that God placed them, they are the angels that he placed here. And that was one that they took from us."
"It’s very hard to for anyone to view anyone dying, but it just brings the point more home to see children getting shot," said Bishop Richard Howell, Jr.
Aniya was shot and killed by a stray bullet while enjoying a McDonald's Happy Meal after a day at the lake with her family. She’s one of three children shot in the last few weeks.
As her small body laid in a pink casket with a tiara on her head inside the church, activists stood outside the church with support and a message to the community.
Aniya Allen, 6, was shot in the head while she was in a vehicle in north Minneapolis on May 17, 2021. (Family)
"Enough is enough," said Trahern Pollard of We Push for Peace. "When it gets to the point where our babies can’t even just enjoy the weather or ride a bike down the street - enough is enough."
They’re pleading with the public to come forward with any information to find those responsible.
"Open your mouth, this is your community," said Donna Morris of A Mother’s Love. "You have as much stake in this community as we do working it. If you don’t say something and continue to let this go, you’re as guilty as the ones who pulled the trigger."
The funeral procession will take Aniya’s body on a horse-drawn carriage to Lakewood Cemetery. Her family says it’s near Bde Maka Ska, the last place they saw her playing alive.