MUSKEGON, Mich. — A Muskegon Heights mother is honoring her son, shot and killed in 2019, with a block party and giveaway on what would have been his 35th birthday.
WATCH: 'I'm celebrating him': Muskegon Heights mom keeps son's memory alive with birthday block party
Gary Phillips was 29 years old when he was shot and killed on December 2nd, 2019, just one street away from his mother Tamara's front door in Muskegon Heights.
"He died one street over. So it was not even 60 seconds from here," Tamara said.
Tamara said she heard gunshots shortly after Gary walked out her front door.
"It was a part of me that was taken that I never would have thought I would experience," Tamara said. "The next time that I saw Gary was at the funeral home."
July 20th would have been Gary's 35th birthday. To mark the occasion, Tamara is throwing a block party and using it as a call for unity in her neighborhood.
"I'm celebrating him how he would have celebrated himself, because he was love, and he loved a lot of people," Tamara said.
When asked if the event is also a chance to ask for unity, Tamara said, "Absolutely, I would love for it to be unity in this community."
Alongside the block party, Tamara organized a 35-gift giveaway in Gary's honor through a raffle system on Facebook.
"One week, I created a wine bottle with flowers on the top, and it was a picture of him, and it had his name on it," Tamara said.
Tamara said the outpouring of support has been overwhelming.
When asked if the giveaway is her way of returning love to her neighbors, Tamara said, "Absolutely."
The events come as Muskegon County officials are also calling on the community to help reduce gun violence. The county prosecutor and the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan held a press conference earlier this month, urging neighbors to speak up if they see something suspicious.
"It's your neighborhoods that you want safe and quiet, so let us help you by you helping us to protect that," Muskegon County Prosecutor, DJ Hilson said.
Muskegon
Muskegon mom honors son killed by gun violence; county works to reduce shootings
Tamara says too many lives have been lost to gun violence, including her son's.
For Tamara, the block party and giveaway are her way of making sure those lives are never forgotten — and forever celebrated.
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