Amaria Jones: Shot Dead While Dancing for her Mom
Amaria Jones dreamed of becoming an attorney one day. But she had plenty of time for that. After all, she was only 13 years old. She had just finished 6th grade at John Hay Community Academy. When Brandon Wilkerson went to the school to recruit boys for a basketball team, Amara said she wanted to join, too. She wore a jersey: number 12. Friends and family called her "Ya-Ya." She loved the color purple. She was a typical little sister to Mercedes Jones, age 27, and three older brothers. She was a fun-loving delight to her mother, Lawanda Jones. Amaria and her mother lived on the first floor apartment of a small two-family brick house on the 1000 block of North Leclaire Avenue in South Austin, on the west side of Chicago. There had been thunderstorms Father's Day weekend of 2020, but the weather had settled as the sun went down on the evening of June 20. The light was fading just after 8:30. Amaria was in the living room, watching TV with her mother. Excited about a new ...