A 17-year-old Brooklyn girl, Deaza Barkley, was fatally shot in the head inside a Queens home—just months after presenting a school project on the dangers of gun violence, her grieving mother said.
Barkley was found unconscious in a Jamaica residence on February 15 and later died at a Jamaica hospital.
“How did my baby die to the same thing she was trying to raise awareness on?” Krystle Barkley questioned why the very issue her daughter sought to raise awareness about took her life.
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Police say another teen is suspected in the shooting, according to the New York Post.
A photo from April shows Deaza Barkley, dressed in a blazer and smiling, presenting a slideshow at Uncommon Collegiate Charter High School in Brooklyn.
The 17-year-old had been raising awareness about gun violence at the time.
“Gun violence and climate change are two major issues that are often seen as unrelated but they have a lot of connections, like the way both impact the community,” Deaza Barkley wrote on the “context” slide of the presentation, before adding, “by recognizing this problem we can do something and create a sustainable future [sic].”
A 16-year-old boy has been charged with manslaughter and criminal possession of a firearm in connection to the fatal shooting of the 17-year-old.
Police recovered a gun at the scene, and the teen claimed the shooting was accidental, occurring while he was playing with the weapon at his grandfather’s home. The boy allegedly told the police that he had invited the girl over when no one else was home.
Authorities have not yet determined the nature of his relationship with Deaza Barkley.
Deaza Barkley’s mother remembers her daughter as a bright and loving presence, calling her “Sugar” and describing her as “sunshine wherever she went.”
She was a devoted sister and friend, insisting on picking up and dropping off her younger brother from school daily and cherishing time with her siblings, Deaza Barkley’s mother said.
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Deaza Barkley, a high school cheerleader, had a compassionate spirit, often persuading her parents to shelter friends in need at their Brooklyn home to keep them off the streets, her mother shared.
“She wanted nothing more than to make her family proud.”
And now, “my family will never be the same,” Krystle Barkley said.
Deaza Barkley aspired to join the Air Force after graduation and had begun receiving college acceptance letters before her tragic death, her mother revealed.
A GoFundMe launched by the Barkley family to support them during this difficult time has already surpassed its initial $1,000 goal.
“I want to thank everyone for the love and support given to my baby girl,” the grieving mom said.
