Community holds vigil for teen killed at Bellevue, Tennessee park

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Family, friends and neighbors are coming together Wednesday evening to honor a teenager who lost his life to gun violence in Bellevue last week.

Aayden Hayes, 13, was found lying on the sidewalk at Red Caboose Park with multiple gunshot wounds on Wednesday, May 29, according to the Metro Nashville Police Department. He was taken to Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

This story resonated with the community who continued to show support for the grieving family. A memorial filled with flowers, trinkets, balloons, sweet notes and a cross was erected in the park after the shooting, reminding Aayden's family that they are not alone.

“There's nothing but tragic about him leaving,” community member Maryam Abolfazli told News 2.

People have described Aayden as kind, caring and gentle. Meanwhile, a neighbor said the teen — who had just graduated from Bellevue Middle School — died a hero. Not only was Aayden shot and killed in last week's incident, but his 16-year-old sister was also injured, apparently by another teen.

Investigators believe two groups of teenagers met at the park to fight amid an ongoing argument between the groups' girls, which sparked the shooting.

“This should never, ever, happen, ever, in this world,” said Abolfazli, a candidate for Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District.

Authorities said 15-year-old De'Anthony Osasosifo, who matched the witnesses' description, was found less than a mile from the park and admitted to firing a gun during the fight. A trained dog found a nine-millimeter semi-automatic along Osasosifo Road that was believed to have been stolen from a vehicle in Murfreesboro last year.

“Gun violence prevention is holistic. It comes from all of us. It's a community effort. This requires investment, resources, and mental health counselors for students and children. This requires the community to come together and look at this as all of our problems. This requires interrupting the violence and ensuring the safety of the community,” Albolfazli said.

As mothers and neighbors, it's a fight Albolfazli and Sarah Shoop Neumann won't give up, saying there are real solutions as they advocate for responsible gun ownership.

“We're smart in Tennessee, we have responsible gun owners here. People know how to lock their guns. We need to put the pieces in place to pass this law to encourage responsible gun ownership. We can own guns responsibly and protect our children. They deserve better and we need to make sure our elected officials know we demand these things and they show up to the polls and vote,” Neumann said.

Both women emphasized that gun violence affects everyone and so we must be united as a community.

“I drive through town and see Covenant signs everywhere and red and black bows. There are things everywhere that show us that the community is on our side, and I'm so grateful for that and they've given me so much support, and all I can think about when these things happen is that these families are experiencing this loss, but they are not. seeing all of this,” explained Neumann, who is a Covenant mom. “They don't get signs with Aayden's name everywhere and it's the same loss, and it hit me so hard that, yes, I want gun safety and I will advocate for that and I will be at Capitol every day until we make change here, but I also want to reach out to our community, provide support and give families the things they need.

After the shooting, Neumann went to the park to pray and met Aayden's grieving family.

“After meeting his mother, it really weighed on me to want something for him here, and someone had made this kind of cross for the victims of Covenant and it was just a really healing place for me to go and pray. and honor their memory, and I wanted his family, Aayden’s family, to have the same thing,” Neumann said.

The two women held a prayer service at the park on Sunday, June 2, and are hosting a vigil at Red Caboose Park on Wednesday, June 5.

“They need to see our community come forward to serve them. They need to know that this is not a news cycle for us, that we won't forget in a week. This is about our community showing that we stand with them and that gun violence affects us all. We are neighbors, we need to be there for each other, we need to show up, we need to care. No one can carry this burden alone and just let their family know that we are here and we will not forget Aayden and that his life mattered and he is changing his life now,” Neumann explained.

She even created a GoFundMe to help the Hayes family during this difficult time.

“You have parents who are going through the worst pain of their lives and have to plan their baby's funeral unexpectedly, and it's expensive. The financial pressure and stress that comes with trying to figure out, “Which coffin do I want to place my child in?” No one should have to go through this,” she said.

If you would like to donate to the GoFundMe for Aayden's family, click here.