‘#EnoughIsEnough': Dwyane Wade Issues Plea for Help After Cousin Fatally Shot on Chicago's South Side

Nykea Aldridge, 32, was pushing a child in a stroller when she was shot and killed Friday afternoon, becoming the unintended victim of a gang shooting, according to police

Following the fatal shooting of his cousin on Chicago's South Side Friday afternoon, Chicago Bulls' star Dwyane Wade delivered an impassioned plea for help in combating the city's violence. 

"The city of Chicago is hurting. We need more help& more hands on deck. Not for me and my family but for the future of our world. The YOUTH!" Wade tweeted Saturday morning.

"These young kids are screaming for help!!! #EnoughIsEnough," he added.

Nykea Aldridge, 32, was pushing a child in a stroller the 6300 block of South Calumet Ave in the Parkway Gardens neighborhood when two men approached another man nearby and opened fire, according to police.

She was struck by gunfire and taken to Stroger Hospital where she was pronounced dead, authorities said. According to police, she was the unintended victim in a gang-related shooting. 

Derren Sorrells, 22, and Darwin Sorrells, 26, were charged with first degree murder on Sunday, according to police.

Wade first tweeted about his cousin several hours after the shooting on Friday night. 

Family spokesperson Pastor Edward Jones said Friday that Aldridge was a mother of four, and just had a baby. She and her family had recently moved to the neighborhood, Jones said, and she was on her way to register her children for school when she was shot.

"She loved God, loved her family," Jones said. "Just like everyone else, just wanted a better life, to live a better life. This is tragic because now it struck home with us. Something has to be done. This has got to stop."

Pastor Jolinda Wade, Aldridge's aunt and Dwyane's mother, spoke outside Stroger Hospital following the shooting, calling it "senseless."

"This is one particular time our family wished we didn't have to be speaking to the media about anything," Jolinda Wade said. "(I) just sat up on a panel yesterday... talking about the violence that's going on within our city of Chicago, never knowing that we would be the ones actually living and experiencing it."

Jolinda Wade participated in a town hall on violence hosted by ESPN's "The Undefeated" in Chicago on Thursday, and Dwyane appeared via video interview to share his thoughts on the city's climate.

"It's important for all of us to help each other, to go back and say, you know, where did this start, and how did this start?" Dwyane told host Jemele Hill.

"It's about a collective group; it's about a whole coming together and understanding that it's deep-rooted. This is something that didn't start today, this is something that's not going to end tomorrow. But this is something that we can start a conversation, we can start the work today, and hopefully, eventually we can stop it," he added. 

Wade started the Wade's World Foundation in 2003, a charitable organization that does community outreach and advocacy work in the Chicago area. 

Jolinda Wade asked for prayers outside the hospital Friday night, and said she will continue to be proactive in the community.

"We're still going to try to help and empower people like the one who senselessly shot my niece in the head," she said. "We're going to try to help these people to transform their minds and give them a different direction."

Contact Us