Oct 11, 2007 5:34 pm US/Eastern
Parents Of Slain Boy Make Plea To Gov. Patrick
Patrick Meets With Family After Mother's Public Appeal
By WBZ reporter Jim Smith
DORCHESTER (WBZ) ―
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Kimberly Odom makes a plea to Gov. Patrick to end urban violence one week after her 13-year-old son was gunned down just outside their Dorchester home.
WBZ
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Steven Odom, 13, was in the eighth grade at James E. Timilty Middle School in Roxbury.
WBZ
The parents of a boy shot and killed in Boston last week are asking for help and reached out to Gov. Deval Patrick at a news conference Thursday afternoon.
Detectives don't believe 13-year-old Steven Odom was the target of the shooting, but no arrests have been made.
Odom's parents said they want action from Patrick and other politicians to prevent future shootings and to end urban violence.
"As a hurting mother I extend myself to speak for all the other hurting mothers, 'What is your office doing to end this hurt across the commonwealth?'" said Odom's mother, Kimberly Odom.
Odom was walking home from a basketball game last Thursday when he was hit by gunfire intended for someone else, police said.
"My husband and I have tried to sleep since Thursday, but we get up between 3:30 and 4:30 a.m. and weep with each other," Kimberly Odom said.
Gov. Patrick met with Odom's family after Kimberly Odom's public appeal Thursday. Patrick met with the Odoms for about 40 minutes and did not speak to reporters.
A spokeswoman for Kim and Ronald Odom -- Reba Danastorg -- told The Boston Globe Patrick "heard their heart" and the parents agreed to meet him again.
Patrick's spokesman Kyle Sullivan said the governor's staff had talked with family representatives about a meeting even before the news conference. He says the governor is committed to working against violence.
Police said they do know who the intended target was in the shooting.
"To the person who did this act of violence, although our hearts are hurting, it holds no hate," Kimberly Odom said. "God is a god of second chances."
Odom's family said he was a good student who played drums at his father's church. He had just entered the eighth grade.
He will be buried this weekend.
(© 2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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