Mom uses Facebook Live to voice frustration after son is shot

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH ) – An Indianapolis mother is using social media to show the heartache families of gun violence victims go through.

Monday night, DeAndra Yates posted to Facebook Live about her family’s continued ordeal.

“I’m tired, I’m tired,” Yates said in the video while crying. “I am so, so sick of gun violence and how it’s ruining people’s lives.”

147 parents in Indianapolis learned the heartache of losing a loved one to gun violence this year. That’s the current homicide rate.

But there are hundreds more left nursing their children back to health. That’s Yates’ life everyday.

On Christmas night doctors admitted her son DeAndre Knox to Riley Hospital. He had nearly 40 seizures this past weekend.

One of them happened during the ten minute video.

“As parents we have all these hopes and dreams for our kids and how instantly a bullet or someone making a very bad decision can take that away from us,” said Yates in an interview.

Knox’s ordeal began back on February 1, 2014. He was at a northwest Indianapolis house for a birthday party. He was 13 at the time. His mom says he was an athlete and a honor student.

“It’s been almost three years and we still don’t know exactly what happened. We know shots rang outside of the home and my son was hit in the back of the head with a stray bullet that flew through a window,” she said.

Since that day Yates has become an advocate for gun violence victims.

She’s even been to the White House.

But much of her work is right here in Indianapolis. She goes to other victims’ vigils, just as others came to her son’s.

“I refuse to be quiet. My son was just too amazing for me to shut up. I refuse to,” she said.

Yates says doctors have hope that her son may recover, but they haven’t yet found the reasons for his seizures.

Police also haven’t found his shooter.

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