A 16-YEAR-OLD girl was just weeks away from starting her junior year when she was fatally shot in the throat while visiting her friend’s house.
Traelynn Sibley was doing her friend’s hair when she was killed by a bullet shot from outside of the home.
The 16-year-old was shot while doing her friend’s hair[/caption]
The teenager had a love for cosmetology, according to relatives[/caption]
The police report said that it was a “normal night with two of the females fixing each other’s hair at a vanity” when dozens of bullets flew through the house.
Bailey Lewis, 21, was charged with second-degree murder, three counts of accessory armed criminal action, and two counts of accessory unlawful use of a weapon in connection to the killing.
Multiple people were inside the home at the time of the shooting when Sibley was shot.
“She was just happy, fully of energy, bubbly, smart, sweet. A blessing,” her mother, Cassandra O’Dell, told the Kansas City Star.
“She was taken violently. …She did not deserve this.”
Right before the shooting, Sibley had begged to stay when the mother said she wanted to pick her up.
“She even sent me a message saying, ‘Mama, I’m safe. I’m OK. It’s summertime. I don’t have anybody to chill with at home,’” O’Dell said.
“I keep reading that message.”
Shortly after the shooting happened, a person had entered a gas station nearby and was asked to remove a black mask that covered their entire head and face.
Because the person removed the mask, police later were able to identify them as Lewis, according to the arrest report.
Her car was also seen on multiple traffic cameras around the scene as well, the documents say.
After investigators asked witnesses if they knew Lewis, two of them said that they had both had a falling out with the 21-year-old months prior.
Police were called to the house multiple times this year, according to KCTV-5, with one neighbor saying he wasn’t surprised when he saw police lights at the house.
Lewis was booked on a $400,000 bond, according to her arrest records.
“She was a light, she was a light in our life. She was so much personality in one little person,” the mother told the Kansas City Star after her death.
“Our family is broken right now. This is horrible.”
O’Dell now wants to use her daughter’s death to spread the message about the dangers of gun violence in Kansas City.
“Traelynn’s death marked the 100th homicide in Kansas City this year, and she is one of eight victims under 18,” she wrote in a Change.org petition calling for stronger legislation.
“Children should not live in fear. Parents should not have to bury their kids. Communities deserve real protection.”
“Together, we can make sure no more families suffer this pain.”
Bailey Lewis was charged in connection with Sibley’s death[/caption]
Her mother has made a petition for stronger gun legislation[/caption]
