Imani Clemons paid monthly visits to her brother's cemetery after he was shot dead in July 2022.
Trigger Warning: The following article mentions gun violence which some readers may find distressing.
A family based in Anderson is having a rough year. Gun violence has taken two children from the family in a matter of 5 months. Although Del'Rosa Winston has 15 grandchildren, she has had to arrange the funerals for two of these cherished grandchildren. Her grandson Shy'heem Clemons was shot and killed at the Anderson Mall in July in broad daylight. Now, last week the family buried Imani Clemons, Shy'heem's sister. Imani was one semester away from graduating but was tragically shot and killed in a shooting at Fairview Gardens Apartments on December 29, per WYFF.
"Imani would have been the one sitting here for her mother," Winston said. "For any interview. Imani was, is the rock that they had after they took Shy'heem."
Imani Clemons was only a senior at T.L. Hanna High School but assumed a caregiving role after her brother passed tragically. She balanced school and college applications while caring for her mother and making funeral arrangements. She also paid monthly visits to her brother's cemetery. "I won't be able to see Imani get married or whatever she chose to do in a relationship. And have those beautiful children," Winston shared, mourning the second death in the family to gun violence.
Winston won't let her daughter or grandchildren go home while the Anderson Police Department is still looking into who killed Imani Clemons and there have been no arrests made as of now. When a reporter asked Winston, "Do you worry that your family is in danger?" She responded, "We don't go there. We don't go there. She's not afraid. I'm not afraid. However, I'm not stupid either."
A family is mourning the loss of a child to gun violence for the second time this year after 18-year-old Imani Clemons was shot and killed in Anderson this week. https://t.co/jzsOtN2Vyb
— Peyton Furtado WYFF News 4 (@PFurtadoWYFF) December 31, 2022
She claimed she is unwilling to take any chances after losing two grandkids in the past five months to burials. She shared that she's been feeling helpless while waiting as the family seeks justice. As they wait for answers, the family is handling things day by day and concentrating on organizing Clemons' funeral. "We have to look for justice. Not just because it's Imani or Shy'heem, but because of them, and because of how it could affect so many people in these kinds of families."
According to Anderson Police Department Maj. Nikki Carson, officers arrived on the scene at 9:30 p.m. The shooting is still being looked into. "If there is anybody who has any information about what has occurred," Carson said, "the shooting incident at Fairview Gardens that happened last night, please reach out to the Anderson City Police Department." A GoFundMe account set up to raise funds for the family remembers the teenage girl as someone with "so many dreams and aspirations."
he Anderson County Coroner’s Office said Imani Clemons, the young woman killed in an apartment shooting Thursday night, is the sister of a man killed at the mall in Anderson earlier this year. https://t.co/eCIDy9aVTl
— WSPA 7NEWS (@WSPA7) December 31, 2022
References:
https://www.wyff4.com/article/anderson-family-mourns-after-losing-2-to-gun-violence/42399409
https://www.gofundme.com/f/imani-home-going-service
Cover Image Source: GoFundMe
