MACON, Ga. — Through a partnership with Mercer's Center for Collaborative Journalism, Georgia Public Broadcasting and the Telegraph, we will seek out many voices over the next year and ask the question: What is the cost of youth violence? The project is named Peacing Together.
Tonora Jones knows the cost of violence. The father of her children was shot to death at a motel in 2006.
Then, her daughter was killed in a drive-by shooting at their home in December 2015. Her son was also shot in the leg in October 2017.
Jones says turning to violence only leads to more pain.
"A parent shouldn't have to bury their children," she said.
Almost four years ago, her life was forever changed when her home was the target of a drive-by shooting.
"They shot my house up over 24 times. It was two shooters and a driver. [They] actually got out, stood in the yard, and shot my house up," said Jones.
More than five of those bullets hit her daughter, 'Tootie' Roberts. One of them grazed the 14-year-old's heart, and she died.
"Just to see my baby lying there lifeless and I couldn't do anything to save her... that's what hurts the most. She was innocent, just lying on the sofa watching a movie," said Jones.
Every day she tries to move forward with life, but some days, she simply can't.
"I have days that I'm depressed. I'm sad. I'm mad. It's just hard for me. I still haven't gotten over it," she said. "I've got a long, long way to go and I don't think I'll ever do it. I hate that we have to go through senseless stuff like this, it was senseless."
Jones says she wishes young people would think twice before picking up a gun.
"You can't turn to the streets and think you can pick up a gun and solve a problem. That's not it, because I wouldn't want anybody to feel the pain that I feel. This is a pain that will never go away," she said. "What if it was your sister, your daughter, your family member? You would want answers. I want answers because I don't know...the guys could walk past me and I don't even know they're the ones who did it. They're still out here on the streets and my daughter is out there in the cemetery."
One person has been charged in connection with the shooting death of Tashuntis 'Tootie' Roberts. According to Amy Leigh Womack with the district attorney's office, Terrance Hampton is currently out on bond and no trial date has been set.
In the days after Roberts' death, investigators were looking for two men in connection with the shooting.
Sergeant Clay Williams with the Bibb County Sheriff's Office says Roberts' murder is still actively being investigated.
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