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CHICAGO () — The parents of an 18-year-old Chicago woman who was shot and killed in 2014 are pleading with President Donald Trump not to send the National Guard to the city but instead invest in gun control and antiviolence programs.
“Please rethink it,” said Alexandria Burgos’ mother, Milagros, when asked about Trump’s plans to pull funds from antiviolence initiatives. “There are so many families, not just in Chicago, that had their loved ones taken. And they live with this trauma, they live with the absence, they live with that void … just please rethink it.”
Alexandria’s father, Rafael, agreed.
“These (antiviolence) programs really work,” he said. “For the last three years that they’ve been in play, gun crime has gone down, violence has gone down. And it’s been proven: We don’t need the National Guard, we need more resources.”
Alexandria was killed in October 2014. Every fall, her family holds their annual harvest festival in collaboration with Aspira High School, inspired by Alexandria’s love for autumn.
In the decade since Alexandria died, no arrests have been made in her case. Still, her family continues to turn their pain into advocacy work against gun violence.
They support legislation that would require cold cases to be reassigned to a new detective after three years.
local affiliate WGN-TV in Chicago contributed to this report.