Grief counseling offered in Como neighborhood, teens and parents encouraged to attend

A procession of dozens of cars followed the casket of 18-year-old, Paul Willis.

Willis is one of the three fatal victims of a shooting in the Como neighborhood of Fort Worth on July 3.

The procession traveled along Horne Street where they passed the corner where Willis died last Monday. The family later lead the way to Lake Como Park where they released pink balloons in his honor.

At Lake Como Park, his mother, Ka'Desha Weatherly spoke to family and friends.

"I don't want him to just be some young man on a t-shirt," Weatherly said. "He had a very promising life. He did not deserve to be taken from him."

Weatherly asked those in attendance to not forget about the cousins that witnessed the tragic event or Willis’ younger brother.

“Wrap your arms around them,” Weatherly said. “I want all the children out here to hear me say all the boys that was out here don't owe me revenge. That's not what I want. I want counseling for y'all for the summer. I want y’all to be better because my son was about excellence.”

Excellence other community leaders also want to see from the youth.

“We need healing. We need time and we need each other. There's no pain like a mother's pain to lose a child. So, for her to be able to say no revenge, she just want us to come together and be together,” Parish Lowery said. Lowery is a pastor and owner of Tree of Life Funeral Directors in Fort Worth.

The company offered to cover all funeral costs for Willis.

"It has been a tough enough situation, the fact that tragedy has struck in our community. I mean, we wanted to make sure that we did our part in giving back to our community," Andrew Sims-Kirkland said. Sims-Kirkland is the owner of Tree of Life Funeral Directors. "Pastor and I spoke, and we agreed that we would do that as a gesture just to... support our community. And our hand is not always out, but we give as well."

Family and friends later continued the procession to Willis’ final resting place.

On Tuesday night, teens and their parents are encouraged to attend a grieving session at Lake Como Community Center to unpack the trauma they witnessed hours after ComoFest ended on that July 3 night. The grieving session is spearheaded by Mothers of Murdered Angels.

"Como is a close-knit family. They're like a big family. So when one thing happens, they're all there for it. And they and this is their bedrock right here, the community center," Hamilton said. “We will have at least 10 to 15 counselors in the room if they need to talk."

Hamilton started Mothers of Murdered Angels after losing her daughter in 2019 and grandson in 2020 to gun violence.

"That's when I started my nonprofit to help these other parents out here because I know what I went through. So, I know to try to help deal, to make it a little easier for them," Hamilton said. "You think you're fine, but you're not fine. So, come out and talk to someone about it. We want the parents to know what we're offering their kids to help them and help the parents, too, because the parents going through it."

Grief counselors will be on-site, and a moment of silence will be held in honor of the three victims killed.

The surveillance footage showing dozens of people running from gunfire was difficult for Anastasia Taylor to watch. As a member of the Fort Worth community, she was saddened. As a licensed social worker, she went into solution mode.

She joined other licensed social workers and mental health professionals Tuesday afternoon at the Como Community Center to lend support. The Fort-Work-based nonprofit, Mothers of Murdered Angels, organized the event.

“There are many that are needing additional support and resources to really deal with the trauma coming out of this type of event,” said Taylor.

"We're just here to help the kids and the parents get through this year that has happened out here in their community," Hamilton said. "We need to just put the guns down. That's what we need to do, is put the guns come down and come together."