- Memorial benches honoring gun violence victims in North Omaha were destroyed over the weekend.
- Families say this is the third time the site has been vandalized.
- A local business, DeSantiago Masonry, is donating four new benches to help restore the space.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
You see this pile of benches? These were memorial benches to honor victims of gun violence. But someone vandalized them.
Families who maintain the site tell me… this isn’t the first time the area’s been vandalized.
A mural—created back in 2022—honors dozens of women, and one man, lost to gun violence in Omaha.
Stephanie Meadows, the mother of 14-year-old Isabella Santiago, visits the memorial often. Isabella was killed in 2021.
"You don't want to go to a cemetery all the time—you don't want to drive by where she was shot all the time," said Meadows.
Over the weekend, benches installed in her memory—along with those for others, like Jamelia Hesseltine—were destroyed.
"For someone to come by here and disrespect people that have passed— is crazy to me...crazy to me," said Meadows.
The benches—once cemented into the ground—were found broken in half, shattered beyond repair.
To Buffy Bush, they were much more than just places to sit. Bush lost her sister, Jemelia Hesseltine, to gun violence in 2011.
"We didn't think the vandalism would actually be here—with this, as this is a place that is something honoring—this is a place that is sacred," said Bush.
She says it’s the third time the memorial has been vandalized.
"I was out here with wood glue, with Gorilla—anything… that I thought would t could bind it...I even bought resin to try to resin them back together," said Bush.
During our interview, Meadows shared some good news—she got a call that morning.
DeSantiago Masonry, a South Omaha business, will be donating four new benches to help restore the memorial for victims of gun violence.
