9-Year-Old Jamyla Bolden Killed in Ferguson, Mother Injured


An August 18 shooting in Ferguson, MO left a 9-year-old girl dead and her mother injured

9-year-old Jamyla Bolden was doing homework on her mother's bed when someone fired shots into their Ferguson home on Tuesday night. Jamyla was fatally wounded and her mother was hit in the leg. Jamyla's grandmother ran into the room when she heard the shots fired.


“I was holding her the whole time,” the grandmother of Jamyla told the Post-Dispatch. “I kept holding and holding her. I still have her blood on my hands. She was still breathing. I was telling her to just breathe.”

Jamyla's mother was treated at a hospital then released, according to authorities.

Melanie Powell-Robinson, spokeswoman for Riverview Gardens schools said Jamyla "was very sweet, kind and soft-spoken. We’re trying to figure out why in the world did this happen. We just can’t make sense of this.”

Police said a motive in the shooting is not yet known. Ferguson Interim Police Chief Andre Anderson said authorities will “do everything possible to find the person responsible.”


Photo: Eric Kayne