As the semester winded down, many students, including Lyniah Bell, 19, were eager to head home for a work free month. Unfortunately, Bell will not be returning to school for the upcoming semester as she was gunned down Friday evening in a Chicago Neighborhood.
Bell was visiting her boyfriend in East Chatham, a south side Chicago neighborhood, when she was shot in the head, NBC Chicago reported.
According to the Chicago Tribune, at around 9:50 p.m. a witness heard a gunshot come from the room Bell was in. That same witness found her body a few moment later.
Bell leaves behind her mother, Evelyn Hightower and her 13-year-old brother, Darius.
“It ain’t really hit me yet,” Hightower told NBC Chicago. “I know she’s gone, but I ain’t fully process it yet.”
“They were best friends. I don’t think it really hit [Darius] yet,” Sam Brown, Bell’s cousin said to The Chicago Tribune.
Chicago police have ruled the death a homicide and confirmed that the tragic event may be due to a domestic incident.
There is currently one male suspect in police custody.
Bell was a freshmen honors student at Michigan State University, her dream school, and was majoring in business and journalism.
Brown said, “At MSU, she approached every course with curiosity and dedication.”
“I was very proud of her,” said Highthtower. “…Couldn’t ask for a better daughter.”
Bell was a 2019 graduate from North Lawndale College Prep, where she was a very active student.
“To know Lyniah was to love her…We just can’t say enough good about the positive impact she had in the school community,” the school said in a statement. “She will be dearly missed.”
The death of Bell has changed the way Brown views gun violence, an ongoing issue in Chicago.
“Sometimes you ignore the violence a little,” Brown said. “But once it hits home now it makes you want to be active.”
