‘Her life was helping others’: Family shares life of victim killed in Central District shooting

The victim who was shot and killed in last week’s shooting in Seattle’s Central District was working a double shift to help people with housing, clothes and food, the family said.

INVESTIGATION:

Seattle police said the shooting happened last Wednesday night near the intersection of 24th Avenue South and South Jackson Street.

The shooting happened about six hours after a shooting – several blocks away – that left a 17-year-old student injured at a bus stop, near Garfield High School.

As of Monday, Seattle police told KIRO 7 News that they’re still searching for a suspect(s).

A makeshift memorial was created near the intersection to remember the shooting victim, 41-year-old Eboni Walker.

“To hear one of your family members was shot and killed in a drive by, she wasn’t the target. It hurt us to the core,” said Shirley Wroten, Walker’s aunt. “I’m feeling hurt. I’m feeling angry that this senseless shooting is going on. I grew up in this community. This was a part of our lives and to see it happened within the community where Eboni grew up in, it’s just tugging on my heart in right now.”

Walker’s uncle, Don Walker, said his niece was working a double shift Wednesday, and was at the wrong place at the wrong time.

“That wasn’t her day that she was supposed to be working. She was supposed to work that night.” He added, “We don’t condone violence. This has to change. Something has to change you know. Even if it’s taking Eboni’s name to change some things. This is a young lady. This is not somebody who runs the streets.”

Walker was shot and killed during her lunch break, he said.

“Nobody could believe it. Nobody wants to lose their daughter, their niece, their granddaughter. I wouldn’t wish that on anybody,” he added. “Now we got to shield our kids. You can’t even come out on your lunch break. That’s terrible man.”

EBONI WALKER:

Don Walker said his niece was working two shifts to help people who need the extra help with housing, food, clothing, employment, etc.

“She’s a helpful person. She works for an outreach program that helps people getting housing, get clothes, get food. She did all that. That was her life. Her life was helping others.” He said, “She’d help you with housing, clothes, food, electricity bills, cable, anything, beds, whatever, food for kids, clothes for kids. She did all that. That was her life. Her life was to help others because she’s been through that.”

Wroten said, “It’s sad it has come to this. And you can’t be out anywhere, unfortunately, safe. Because there’s so much gun violence.”

Outside of her career, loved ones told KIRO 7 News that Walker was known for her playful spirit.

“We miss her. We miss her. Eboni was the life of the party. Everyone knew when Eboni was there. She likes to laugh. She likes to joke,” said Wroten.

But what she loved even more was to care for her four sons, they said.

Walker leaves behind four children, who are 11, 11, 12 and 23 years old.

“Our biggest concerns are her boys. They’ll never be able to hug their mom again. They’ll never be able to see her on mother’s day. They’ll never be able to share their accomplishments with their mom,” Wroten said. “She was their queen. She was their king. She was their provider. She was their nurturer. She was the best mother. If there was a picture of best mother, Eboni’s picture probably would be up there because that was her life. Was her kids and providing for her kids.”

“With her being the mother and father at that time, she was a strong lady. It’s just sad that she had to pass like this. There’s a lot of people who are hurting. All her cousins, nieces and her friends. This is going to take a long time to heal,” said Don Walker. “It’s affected all of us, my son, my grandkids, her cousins, all my great nieces and nephews. It’s hurting everybody man. This community is hurting right now.”

FIGHT FOR CHANGE:

Wroten told KIRO 7 News that she hopes police can find the person responsible for her beloved niece’s death.

“There’s no closure of what happened, who did it. There’s not an explanation of why. You can’t explain to me why it happened, but I would really love for you to be able to show us that you guys care about our family, care about Eboni and find some justice for her.” She said, “I hope they find the person responsible for doing this.”

Following last week’s Public Safety Forum in downtown Seattle’s Central Library, which included Seattle’s mayor, police chief, fire chief, etc., that was focused on addressing the public’s concerns around violence and safety, Don Walker said everyone must be accountable in order to stop the violence around the Emerald City, not just city leaders.

“Something has to change. Something got to change. It can’t stay this way,” he said.

“Pointing the finger doesn’t fix it. That’s putting a band aid over it. We have to change our ways too as adults.” He added, “I think the city is trying to do better. But we got to come together with the people, with the city. The officials can only do so much. We have to. The community has to come together. It’s a bigger thing than just one person.”

Walker said he will cherish the lessons his niece had taught him up until her death.

“The positive things that she did on Earth is going to be her legacy because she did a lot of good things. It’s not how you die, it’s how you live. She lived a life and she was making it better for everybody around her. I know for a fact that Eboni’s in heaven. Eboni’s in heaven because Eboni helped others. She passed and it’s hurting. But she passed helping. She helped a lot of people even though she was hurting,” Walker said.

“We need to help instead of always pointing the figure because that never fixed nothing and she was a helper and that’s going to be remembered through a lot of people’s lives,” he added.

Loved ones created a GoFundMe to help with Walker’s funeral and her four sons she leaves behind. If you’d like to help, please click here.

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