Vigil for 15-year-old girl killed at Mount Trashmore

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — Sunday afternoon, dozens of people gathered at Mount Trashmore to remember Jeyani’s life.

The young girl, only 15 years old, was shot dead at Mount Trashmore last week.

Keith Heckstall, a close family friend, recalled when he first learned of the tragedy. He said his son was the one who told him that someone had been shot at the fair.

“I did some research because I also have a 15-year-old daughter, and in the course of that research I eventually got another call from a friend who told me it was my friend’s daughter,” Heckstall said.

He made the next call to his friend with a heavy heart.

“I contacted him immediately to console him as best I could, and in a situation like this, there’s not much you can say except, ‘I’m here,'” Heckstall said.

So he called local activist Darrell Redmond and asked him to help him organize an event to honor Jeyani’s life in the place where it was taken far too soon.

“When I got a call from the father’s friend telling me this was something they wanted to do, it was a no-brainer for me,” Redmond said.

Mount Trashmore is not a place people associate with crime and violence, but Redmond said it shows that tragedies can happen anywhere.

“So we have to understand that this is our problem,” Redmond said. “It’s not a city problem, it’s not a local problem, it’s our problem.”

The lasting message of the vigil was that parents should watch over their children, hug them and cherish them.