Minneapolis mom marks her birthday arranging funeral for son shot to death

October 16, 2020 at 12:56PM
Khalilah Corey and her son, Wanya Corey, 19, who was killed by gunfire Sunday.
Khalilah Corey and her son, Wanya Corey, 19, who was killed by gunfire Sunday. (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

A Minneapolis mother grieving for her slain 19-year-old son said she spent her birthday arranging his funeral.

Wanya Corey was shot and killed shortly before 3 p.m. Sunday near N. Plymouth and Logan avenues, a couple of blocks from the Fourth Precinct police headquarters, according to a statement from his mother on a GoFundMe fundraising web page.

Police have announced no arrests in the homicide, which is one of 68 in the city so far this year.

"We stand by the side of Khalilah Corey, the grieving mother of Wanya Corey, whose dream was snatched in north Minneapolis," Lisa Clemons, a retired Minneapolis police sergeant and director of A Mothers Love Initiative, wrote on GoFundMe.

The posting included a statement from Corey, who said she is an early childhood teacher and single mother of five.

"We moved from Chicago, Illinois, to Minneapolis to give my children a better life, only to have my son taken away from me at such a young age due to senseless violence," she wrote Wednesday. "The tragedy of losing a child is unexplainable."

Corey said she celebrated her 36th birthday Wednesday "planning my 19-year-old son's funeral. My heart is broken."

She added that Wanya was killed on one son's 12th birthday and 10 days before another son's 17th birthday.

"Our family needs to grieve and work on moving out of the neighborhood," she wrote. "Please pray for me and my surviving children."

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Paul Walsh

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Paul Walsh is a general assignment reporter at the Star Tribune. He wants your news tips, especially in and near Minnesota.

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