'He's still the same kid': A long road to recovery for 12-year-old shot near Utica vigil

The late summer sun had just dropped below the horizon when Vanessa Hawkins drove by the crowd of people clutching lit candles on Columbia Street in Utica. Hawkins, a 38-year-old home health aide supervisor who lives in Utica, was on her way to pick up her daughter on Aug. 16.

In the seat next to her sat Hawkins' son, Malik Herron, a 12-year-old boy weeks away from starting his first year in middle school, with big dreams of joining the school's football and basketball teams on the way to a professional basketball career one day.

That night, stopped at the intersection in front of the vigil, Malik wondered aloud whether his sister might be there among the crowd.

As Hawkins prepared to move her car into the intersection, she saw a flash.

Gunfire tore through the silence. Glass shattered.

She looked over to her son. Malik was covering his face.

12-year-old boy, man shot near Columbia Street candlelight vigil

Malik Herron suffered a gunshot wound to the face when gunfire broke out at a candlelight vigil being held in memory of former Utica Common Council member Delvin Moody's father on Aug. 16. A 29-year-old man also suffered multiple gunshot wounds. Utica Police, who reported over 20 9-mm bullet casings were recovered, have not yet apprehended a suspect.

Malik spent 11 days in the hospital. He has spent weeks in physical therapy, counseling and speech therapy while also attending other medical appointments in Utica and Syracuse. Hawkins has stayed home from work to care for him.

Malik has been sidelined from playing sports to avoid risking further injury. He also needs dental surgery as a result of the bullet that was lodged in his jaw, but some places don't take Hawkins' insurance.

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It is, Hawkins said simply, "a lot."

She's been trying to trade in her car, which was damaged by the gunfire. It's their only transportation, but riding inside it brings back painful memories for both of them.

"I hate to traumatize him by putting him in the vehicle," Hawkins said.

Gun violence disproportionately impacts children of color

Gun violence spiked in Utica in 2020, following a national trend — the CDC reported a record-high 45,222 firearm-related deaths in the United States in 2020.

That same year, firearms became the leading deaths for ages 1 to 19, according to the New England Journal of Medicine. Gun violence also disproportionately impacts children of color, notes Dr. Amanda Nickerson, a professor of school psychology and director of the Alberti Center for Bullying Abuse Prevention at the University at Buffalo.

Exposure to violence is consistently associated with post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression and other behavioral issues, Nickerson said in an email.

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"In addition, violence exposure has a cumulative effect," she said, explaining that it can lead to aggression in children and behaviors such as carrying weapons for protection that in turn lead to more violence.

Hawkins said she hopes whoever did fire the gun is brought to justice.

"I'm not mad at the person. I know you didn't intentionally mean to do that," she said. "But this is a careless act."

'It shows there are people out there that care'

Hawkins said she has had some relief through the support of her family and friends. Malik's former teachers at Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School and even a teacher from Albany who heard about what happened have reached out, and a family friend has set up a GoFundMe for Malik's medical expenses. As of Friday, the GoFundMe has raised $1,945 of its $7,500 goal.

"It shows there are people out there that care," Hawkins said.

Malik's friends at Donovan Middle School have checked in on him as well, he said. And while he joked about trying to get another month off from school, he later admitted his friends miss him.

He still loves sports, goofing around with his cousins and playing video games — he used to play "Fortnite," his mother said, but Malik said he prefers "Call of Duty" now.

"He's still the same kid that he was. He just can't do what he used to," Hawkins said. "But he's still my little, smiling boy."

H. Rose Schneider covers public safety, breaking and trending news for the Observer-Dispatch in Utica. Email Rose at hschneider@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Observer-Dispatch: Fundraiser for Malik Herron, 12-year-old shot in Utica: What to know