SEGUIN, Texas — A Seguin mother who lost her daughter to gun violence more than two years ago is now reaching out to comfort another after a 16-year-old girl was shot over the weekend.
“This is a small community. We have to do something,” said Diane Smith, mother of 18-year-old Maekalyn Ann Marie Smith, who was killed in a drive-by shooting on April 4, 2022.
It’s a little easier these days for Smith to visit Park West where a vibrant memorial rests next to a basketball court in Maekalyn’s honor.
Smith said Maekalyn had graduated early from high school and was looking forward to attending Texas A&M University with hopes of becoming a veterinarian.
“She was the funniest, sweetest person you would ever meet,” Smith said.
“It's the smile, it's everything,” said Maekalyn’s older sister Annelia Douglas.
Smith recalled the moments when she was talking with her daughter over the phone when suddenly she heard the crackle of gunfire.
“I was talking to her on the phone, she was here at the park with her boyfriend. A few minutes later she says 'hey mom I’m hungry.' I say 'okay I’ll bring you food and that’s when it happened,'” Smith said.
Maekalyn was fatally shot amid the chaos while her boyfriend survived.
The justice system took over, which led to Maekalyn’s killer being sentenced to 99 years in prison and two others also facing several years behind bars.
“I am diagnosed now with PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder). Reliving that day over and over,” Smith said.
On May 4, Seguin police responded to a shooting in the 1200 block of West Court Street.
Officers found a 16-year-old girl bleeding from her head who was then airlifted to a San Antonio hospital.
“My heart dropped because I didn’t know what had happened, I didn’t know if she had passed, if she had made it, I didn’t know anything,” Smith said.
Smith learned she knows the victim and her mother. On Tuesday, Seguin police said the girl was in critical condition.
“I said I know how you feel, I said this is the worst feeling in the world and parents should not have to feel this,” Smith said. “I will continue to text the mom, tell her my prayers are with her, her daughter and hope she gets better.”
Maekalyn’s family is calling for change in the community with the goal of reducing gun violence. They argue parents can only have so much influence on the actions of their children.
“Like I told people before, you have kids, they make their choices, they decide what path they want to go,” Smith said. “You can tell your kids every day this is what you’re supposed to do, this is what to you have to do but it’s the child part how they want to go.”
“At some point, are they gonna hold the people accountable for where they getting the guns from,” Douglas said.
That's why Smith and Douglas are hoping the community step up, whether it's the schools, City of Seguin or non-profits, to create more affordable and free recreational activities geared toward youth to ensure they're steered away from lives of crime.
“Don’t want another family to have to go through what we went through,” Douglas said.