Balloons rise in memory of sisters killed in July 4th shooting in North Texas – NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth

Dozens of people gathered under a sea of ​​pink balloons outside the Tree of Life Funeral Home in Fort Worth on Friday evening.

As Chardae Mills attempted to speak to a crowd gathered to remember her daughters, four-year-old Ivy Pierce and 15-month-old Wynter Thouston, she burst into tears.

She struggled to find words to express what was taken from her the night her daughters were killed.

“It’s so quiet in my house now,” Mills said.

On July 4, the family said, they went to the Crystal Clean car wash on Cleburne Road to watch the fireworks when a fight escalated into gunfire that struck and killed both girls and another man.

A total of six people were shot in the incident.

Police charged 26-year-old Kanard Trent Murphy with capital crimes.

This is just the latest act of senseless violence to rock this community.

“We have to understand that moments like this are not normal. That mother shouldn’t have to go through this. That father shouldn’t have to go through this,” said Pastor Rodney McIntosh. “Parents shouldn’t bury their children. Man, we have to get back to a place where this can’t happen in our community again.”

The family, who named the girls Wynter Harlem and Ivy Joy, said the sisters brought smiles to the faces of those around them.

When they released balloons into the sky on Friday, they wanted to commemorate two sisters who left us far too soon.

The funeral and burial will be held Saturday at the Mount Calvary Family Life Center in Tyler.