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'I just know they’re in a better place': Baltimore area mother loses three children to gun violence 76 days apart

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Posted at 10:31 PM, Jun 03, 2022
and last updated 2022-06-03 22:41:40-04

BALTIMORE COUNTY — Imagine losing three kids to gun violence.

Now, imagine them being killed 76 days apart.

It's hard to fathom, but it’s the reality for one Baltimore area mother.

For National Gun Violence Awareness Day, WMAR-2 News sat down with Alecia Boston, a woman who has experienced unimaginable heartbreak, but continues to find strength from her faith that one day Baltimore will see better days.

“I just know they’re in a better place. I don’t have to worry now,” Boston said.

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Boston’s children are with her every day.

Photos and videos of them live on her phone and she carries their legacies with her in her heart.

“I can’t bring my kids back and I can’t let their loss take my life,” she said.

Mother loses three children in months

During our interview, Boston wore a smile that was masking the pain no mother should ever feel.

Boston lost three of her children to gun violence last year.

First, it was her son-in-law, Travis Ben-Watkins, who was shot and killed in the 5000 block of Corley Road. It happened in September of 2021 in Baltimore.

Two months later, her son Carlos Smith was killed in 2500 block of Hollins Street.

Then, two weeks later, her daughter, Adia Smith, was shot to death at a Burger King in Woodlawn.

“I believe in God,” Boston replied when asked how she deals with the loss. “I guess he’s the strength that gets me through.”

But it’s a constant struggle because she feels the pain of other mothers who continue to lose their children to gun violence in the city.

“My heart breaks constantly,” she said. “When is it going to stop when is it going to end.”

A question she has for city and state leaders. She gets frustrated when officials like Mayor Brandon Scott and Governor Larry Hogan go back and forth about issues such as violent crime

“You can’t solve an issue if you keep arguing over an issue,” she said.

Instead of the focus being on who's to blame, she wants it to be on the kids

“Give them a place to go back, give them a place to hang out, give them a place to be safe,” Boston said.

Boston said families don’t have years to wait for officials to figure out how to fix the crime problem in Baltimore, but she said she does have faith that one day it will get better.

“I believe we can,” she said. “I believe in Baltimore.”