Families mourn murdered teens

By Derek Held

WKBW

NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. (WKBW) — Family and friends came out on "I reached out to the families the minute I heard that there were some victims that passed away, and I said, with the family's permission, I'm going to do a candlelight vigil for the families," organizer Victor Johnson said. "I'm hoping that this will kind of bridge some type of gap in the community, bring the community back together."

"I was happy it can get out that we love one another, and we come together as a community," Jason Rios, Jalin's dad, said.

Thursday to honor Jayla Brown and Jalin Rios, the two young adults in Niagara Falls who were killed in shootings over the holiday weekend.

The vigil was held at a parking lot at the intersection of Highland and Fairfield Avenue, where one of the two shootings had taken place.

Friends and family gathered for a meal to comfort one another and release balloons in Jayla and Jalin’s honor.

"I hope those balloons are soaring all over the place so that everybody can see that a change is going to come," Carretha Brown, Jayla's mom, said. "People are just tired, and it's time for change to come. No more violence. Stop the violence. Put the guns down."

"I felt the love. They showed me that they love me in my worst time," Celis Rios, Jalin's mom, said about both those attending the vigil and the words of support from the Niagara Falls City School District.

Police said both shootings were at large parties in the very early hours of July 5. Both Jayla and Jalin died at Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center.

Jayla has a 1-year-old son, Syaire. She graduated from Niagara Falls High School last year and started her own hairdressing business.

Jalin graduated from Niagara Falls High School in 2023, but he recently returned to the district — this time, as a classroom associate at Harry F Abate Elementary School.