Chicago Bulls star Dwyane Wade's extended family is remembering his cousin, a young mother of four who was gunned down last week as she pushed her baby's stroller, as more details emerge about the two brothers charged with her murder.
Nykea Aldridge, 32, was walking Friday afternoon in Chicago's Parkway Gardens neighborhood to register her older children for school. The Chicago Tribune reported that the baby in the stroller, Da'Kota, is less than a month old.
Aldridge's accused killers, Derren Sorrells, 22, and his 26-year-old brother, Darwin Sorrells Jr., were targeting a man who had driven a group of women to Parkway Gardens from a nearby suburb, authorities said. The Tribune reported that at least one of the brothers fired several shots, which struck Aldridge instead.
Aldridge was shot four times, including one shot to the head. She was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital; the brothers’ apparent target and Aldridge’s newborn daughter were not hurt, authorities said.
USA Today reported that the Sorrells brothers targeted the man after they exchanged unfriendly glances when he drove into the neighborhood. They later confronted the man after he walked a couple of women into their building, then chased him and began shooting, authorities said.
Darwin Sorrells told investigators that his brother shot Aldridge, USA Today reports. Derren Sorrells also implicated himself during questioning.
Aldridge’s large extended family mourned their loss on Sunday.
"This is my baby girl," Aldridge's mother, Diann, told the Tribune through sobs as she held a photograph of her daughter. "Her life is gone too soon. Too soon she was taken away from us. We're just thankful to God that she was here on this earth as long as she was to bring joy to our hearts. She was an awesome little quiet storm of a daughter."
Investigators describe the Sorrells brothers as convicted felons with ties to the Gangster Disciples street gang.
Derren Sorrells, who has six felony arrests on his record, was released from prison two weeks before the shooting, USA Today reported. He was serving time for a 2012 motor vehicle theft and escape from custody, but was released early.
Darwin Sorrells, who was on parole for a felony gun charge, was released from prison earlier this year.
Aldridge's death became a political football after Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump tweeted about the shooting, saying: "Just what I have been saying. African-Americans will VOTE TRUMP."
Trump also misspelled Wade’s first name in the tweet, which was later edited to correct the spelling.
Social media users slammed Trump for exploiting the tragedy, with at least one tweet describing the GOP nominee as a sounding like a “straight sociopath.” Another Twitter user asked Trump: “You say Clinton just sees black people as votes. What did you just do?”
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