MADISON, Wis. — Friday night marked a sad reminder for the Madison community, but family of Anisa Scott didn’t see the gathering that way.
“Today is full of positivity and good vibes because that’s how Anisa would’ve wanted it,” Scott’s mother Ashley Rios said. “I just feel all of the love and support, and everybody has just been so encouraging and uplifting.”
More than 100 people, many of them strangers, gathered at Demetral Park on Friday to honor the 11-year-old who was killed one year ago in an act of gun violence.
Scott suffered a serious gunshot wound on Aug. 11, 2020 when three teenagers allegedly shot into a vehicle she was riding in on Madison’s east side. Two days later, she died was taken off life support.
“She had her whole life ahead of her,” Rios said. “She was athletic and just really looking forward to a bright future.”
On Wednesday, Scott’s family and friends gathered for a balloon release at 11:11 a.m. in honor of Scott’s life.
In the wake of her death, Madison leaders called for an end to the violence. “It has to stop, and it has to stop now,” Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway said at the time. Just days later, community members gathered for a unity march and procession from the Capitol to Breese Stevens Field where Scott’s funeral was held.
“We’re here really to support the family,” Madison Police Department Assistant Chief Brian Austin said at Friday’s gathering. “The magnitude of this tragedy that this family is going through. We just really wanted to be here.”
Scott’s death marked the city’s 10th homicide of 2020.
Three teenagers – Jerry Ward, Andre Brown and Perion Carreon – were arrested shortly after Scott’s death. The teens face charges of 1st degree intentional homicide, although none of the three have been convicted. None of their trial dates have been set yet.
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