ROANOKE, Va. – NeSean Divers was 16 years old when he was shot and killed.
Right about now, he should be preparing for prom, and getting his cap and gown for graduation.
But instead, 10 News talked with his mom LaCiann to see the failures she still sees in the system, when it comes to trying to put a stop to gun violence after his death.
“The way he came in...he was in his mama’s arms when he left,” Divers said.
LaCiann Divers carries a piece of her son, NeSean wherever she goes.
“For somebody else to decide that I was done being his mother,” Divers said.
NeSean was shot and killed in 2022. He was only 16 years old.
“I felt myself die right along with him, and I haven’t been the same since,” Divers said.
Shortly after NeSean’s death, Attorney General Jason Miyares announced Operation Ceasefire.
It focuses on prevention, intervention and prosecution when it comes to gun violence.
And across the state, the numbers show a drop in Virginia’s murder rate by 17%.
“We can see real results being delivered for individuals,” Miyares said.
But Roanoke is seeing different results — with a 56% increase in murders.
Divers tells us even though Operation Ceasefire is putting an emphasis on prosecution, she’s not seeing that. No arrests were ever made in her son’s case, even though she tells us there were only two people with him at the time of his death.
“You say what you need to say, but until you’re living in the core of it and it’s happening to you in your home, your backyard, your uncles house, whatever, when it hits you close, that when you realize there’s a problem,” she said.
She tells us change will really come, when the people behind Operation Ceasefire start treating each case as if it’s their own child.
“You may get 20 on your desk a day, you may get two on your desk a day. Every child you should look at as that’s your child, and work your case accordingly to that. Try and do everything you possibly can, and devote your time. And if you need help, say you need help,” she said.