Young people in Alameda county, California, reflect on how gun violence has destabilized their lives – and urge local officials to find solutions
By the time Aaliyah Bobina turned 18 she had already seen two people die from gunshot wounds. One was a neighbor who was shot in the apartment complex she lived in. The other was a teenage girl who was shot at a party last summer. She didn’t know the girl, but held her hand as she bled from her chest.
“[The police] came hecka late and she passed away right in front of of us. It was so sad and traumatizing,” Bobina said. “I told her she would be OK and I feel so bad because I couldn’t keep my word.”