A mother lost her son while he was picking up a cake for a Mother’s Day celebration. This was the second time Diane Archer had lost a son to gun violence.
26-year-old Brandon Slater was fatally shot on Saturday outside his mother’s house by an unknown person in the city’s West Pullman community, the Chicago Police Department told Newsweek.
“We were just planning our Mother’s Day dinner that I was cooking for everybody like I always do, and I just left him,” Slater’s mother, Diane Archer, said according to NBC Chicago. “He was trying to do good. He had a son.”
The shooting happened in the 11600 block of South Lowe Avenue around 2:45 p.m. when the shooter exited a vehicle near the area and shot Slater multiple times, killing him at the scene.
The suspect also shot two other people—64-year-old Larry Purnell, who died from gunshot wounds at Advocate Christ Medical Center, according to police. Slater’s 27-year-old friend was struck in the leg but was initially reported to be in good condition at the hospital.
Sunday afternoon, the Chicago Police Department said that no arrests were made. However, they added that the investigation is ongoing.
ABC 7 Chicago reported that Purnell was mowing the lawn at Archer’s house in preparation for Mother’s Day. After he heard the sound of gunfire, investigators said he came out of the backyard and was shot in the chest.
Another son, Sheridan Freeman, was lost to gun violence in December, Archer said, adding that her family, including her daughters, now have to live “without their two brothers.”
“I am so tired of this nonsense,” she said, according to ABC 7 Chicago. “Something has to be done. This doesn’t even make any sense.”
