Teenager from Indianapolis youth group against gun violence fatally shot

Little did the mother imagine that a week later she would be standing in the middle of a room, surrounded by a circle of other boys, clinging to her sad words. These were the same boys who had met her son and mourned his loss while navigating circumstances sometimes beyond their control to avoid a similar fate.

“He just picked the wrong people,” Gilbert said Wednesday evening. “I just want you young men to please be safe here. Because I lost my son, and I never thought it would be me. So please, choose your friends wisely.”

While most of the boys listened attentively, one child had his head in his shirt.

Marcus Johnson, 10, listened to his mother’s cries for a while before wiping his own tears and walking to the center of the circle to hug her. As they clung to each other in tears, others inside Francis Bellamy School 102 stood up to surround the family with support and prayers.

New BOY (Breed of Youth), the mentoring program for young men, hosts the weekly Leader’s Circle on Wednesdays. This week’s focus was on healthy grieving, social-emotional awareness, social media responsibility and decision-making, while remembering one of their own, Dashawn Anthony Gilbert, 17.