Detroit mother of 4-year-old boy killed in park shooting speaks out: "They robbed my baby of so much"
"They robbed my baby of so much, they robbed me of so much," said Jasmine Grubbs.
Grubbs says that on Friday, she loaded up the car and brought her children to Skinner Playfield to enjoy her night off with her family. As they arrived, Grubbs says her 4-year-old son Samir couldn't wait to start playing.
"He was the first one out of the car; he was just running over there," said Grubbs.
Moments later, everything changed.
"As soon as I hit the end button, […] this coward just started shooting," said Grubbs.
Grubbs says she originally couldn't figure out what was happening or where the bullets were coming from.
"It sounded kind of like it was far and close at the same time. I just told everyone, 'Get down, get down,'" she said.
Once it became quiet, she thought things had gone back to normal until she couldn't find Samir.
"My baby ran over there to get his brother, and he said, 'Mama, he won't get up. He won't get up,'" said Grubbs.
Grubbs says what followed is still a blur, seeing Samir and another boy lying on the playground.
"I felt so helpless, I wanted to help both of them, but I didn't even have enough strength to carry my own baby," she said.
She rushed her son to the hospital herself, hoping he would pull through, and said she would never forget the moment he passed.
"It just took my soul, like my soul just left," she said.
Grubbs says that pain brought her to speak at the launch of "Protect The Zone" on Monday, hoping to push other parents and politicians to fight for their kids.
"Actions speak louder than words. The only way you will get my vote for anything from this day forward is this: you're going to have to make a change," said Grubbs.
It's a change she says she plans to see through in honor of her son.
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