Sharde Mills called her two youngest children “Ivy Joy” and “Wynter Girl.”
Ivy Joy Pierce, 4, was very happy and always laughed and hugged her family and friends. A friend of the family said she was like a breath of fresh air.
Mills couldn’t find the words to describe Wynter Harlem Thouston, her 15-month-old baby.
Mills said, “Harlem Wynter was just… Harlem.” At a balloon release for Ivy and Wynter outside of the Tree of Life Funeral Home in Fort Worth on Friday night, the mother of five girls was joined by some of her loved ones. The sisters were being held at the funeral home.
People who run the funeral home say that this is not how they want to bury people. When Parish Lowery heard that Ivy and Wynter had died, it hurt him because he runs the funeral home with another owner.
“I was crushed.” Not because I’m a preacher or a funeral director. It broke Lowery’s heart because he is the father of three girls. “I can’t even imagine what this family is going through,” he said.
The young sisters were among the five people killed in two different shootings in Fort Worth on July 4.
Mills broke down in tears as she tried to talk about her kids at the balloon drop.
Roger McIntosh, bishop at Christ the Risen King Church, spoke for Mills when he asked, “Can we please just put these guns down?” “When disagreements arise, we have other ways to settle them.” Sometimes that’s not the right answer, but it’s not always the answer.
The two girls passed away early on July 5 at Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Southwest Fort Worth. A fight broke out outside of the Crystal Clean Car Wash on West Cleburne Road. The suspect, 26-year-old Kanard Murphy, and another man, who was also hurt in the shooting, got into it. Police wrote in Murphy’s arrest request that he took a gun out of his car and started shooting at the man and other people who were outside the car wash.
Ivy and Wynter were in a car when shots were fired at them. The medical examiner for Tarrant County said that each of them died from a gunshot wound to the chest. Police say that their older sister was hurt in the hand and that a man who was sitting nearby was also killed.
Mills said of her late children, “They was my nose.” “Now it’s really quiet in my house.”
On July 4, the mother and her girls were outside of the car wash to watch fireworks. Mills says that there were other children there besides hers.
McIntosh says that the town as a whole feels sad about the deaths of the two girls. The bishop said that even though he has led funerals in his job with the church, the picture of the girls’ coffins will always stay with him.
“These things are not normal, and we need to understand that.” “This mother and father shouldn’t have to go through this,” McIntosh said. It’s not right for parents to bury their kids, but we need to make it so that this doesn’t happen in our towns anymore.
Police in Fort Worth say they are trying to figure out how to stop shootings and other gun crime during the holidays.
Someone who works for the Fort Worth police said, “I’m asking that our community leaders, our community members, and our police departments try to work together as a single unit to see what else we can do to stop this.”
The police officer said that Ivy and Wynter were just happy young children.
“This is something that no one should see, and then it’s time to celebrate?” There shouldn’t be any fighting.
Carter encourages people to get involved by telling the Police Department about events and where they will be held. He uses the police’s work with this year’s Comofest as an example.
“If you belong to a group, get in touch with us,” Carter said. “Let us help you plan the events so they are safe for everyone who wants to have fun over the holiday.”
