Michiana mother identified as the victim in deadly shooting, suspect arrested

 

SOUTH BEND, Ind., --- Police arrested a suspect in Tuesday night's shooting downtown and identified the victim as the Michiana mother who lost her five-year-old son that was accidentally shot and killed in early May.

26-year-old Kimarie Wright is behind bars in connection with the shooting on South Michigan Street that killed 32-year-old Kaylynn Davidson.

The family told ABC57 news she’s the mother of Kyler Jackson, the five-year-old accidentally shot and killed earlier this month by a nine-year-old relative.

“I eulogized this woman’s son and now five days later she’s no longer with us,” said First District Councilman Pastor Canneth Lee, Group Violence Intervention,

Officials said Tuesday night’s shooting near the 100 block of South Michigan Street in downtown South Bend happened just after 9:45 pm. 

The latest tragedy came less than a week after first district councilman Pastor Canneth Lee said he helped bury five-year-old Kyler.

“My heart goes out to this family. Our heart goes out those who were downtown last night. Our heart goes out to our community because South Bend is not a violent city, individuals are violent,” said Pastor Lee.

“Everyone of these incidents has a story behind them and this one is particularly tragic and heartbreaking for not just the family but the community at large,” added South Bend Mayor James Mueller.

Businesses ABC57 spoke with downtown were shocked and saddened to hear about the deadly incident that took place just feet away from their restaurant.

“I think in general this kind of thing is like really scary and sad regardless of where it happens but having it happen so close to where we’re located it makes it just a lot more real,” said Madi Wilkeson at Manager at Chicory Café in Downtown South Bend.

Tuesday night’s shooting marked the city’s fourth life lost to gun violence in less than a week.

Local leaders said they hope the latest tragedy serves as a wake-up call to the community.

“Most of these are not random, they are people settling disputes and they are settling them with guns. This is not something the mayor can do. This is not something Police can do. It’s only something we can do together,” said Mayor Mueller.

“We deserve to be in a safe city. We deserve to be able to go out to dinner, go to the park and not have to worry about if we are going to come home or not," added Pastor Lee. "We have to work with these individuals, we have to reach out to these individuals. It takes everybody, the people, we’ve got to do our job.” 

ABC57 did reach out to the victim's family however we did not hear back.

South Bend Police Department's Violent Crimes unit is investigating what happened and is asking anyone with information to reach out to Michiana Crime Stoppers at 574-288-stop.