Harlem Activists, Community Leaders and Residents Hold Vigil for Odessa Simms

Click on the photos to increase their size. 

On August 24, members of the Harlem community gathered for a prayer vigil in honor of Odessa Simms. 

As reported in the New York Daily News, "Simms died after she was hit in the back of the head and in the left side of her torso by errant gunfire as she watched a game of dominoes in the Colonel Charles Young Playground on Lenox Ave. near W. 144th St. just before midnight, police said.

"Simms was rushed to Harlem Hospital, but couldn't be saved, officials said. She lived just two blocks away from the scene.

"Witnesses told investigators they saw the gunman armed with a silver pistol chasing another man south down Lenox Ave. before the shots were fired, police said."

  Rev. Vernonn Williams

Reverend Vernonn Williams, one of the organizers of the vigil, told passersby and those in attendance that the violence must come to end. "We have to stand up and speak out against the violence in our community. How many more have to die before we say enough is enough? Odessa Simms was loved by many in this community. The killing has to stop," said Williams.   

After the vigil, an NYPD van and several officers from Community Affairs escorted the group down Lenox Avenue and Malcolm X Boulevard to 142nd Street, the block where Simms lived. A second prayer session was held, and several members of the group challenged a number of neighborhood residents to come forward with information about the shooting. 

"If you know or saw something, you need to come forward. Someone out here knows something. We know you do! If you cared about Odessa Simms or care about your community, you need to say something. The violence has to stop," said one of the attendees. 

 

Coverage and photos by From The G-Man