A Model Daughter

A devastating act of gun violence results in a father’s worst nightmare

- Alan Scott

AT THE TIME, IT SEEMED as if someone were playing a dirty trick on me. I was told that my daughter, Kaylyn Pryor, had been shot. The date was Nov. 2, 2015, but for me, it seems like yesterday.

I had grown up on the South Side of Chicago, and later I took the opportunity to leave the neighborhood and move to the suburbs. I bought a house and moved my family, including my daughters Chantal and Kaylyn, and their mom, Michelle, to a northern suburb, where it was relatively safe. Kaylyn was 2 years old when we moved, and the area was good for my kids. They thrived and made lots of friends. My parents are still South Siders, and they have been married for over 50 years.

Growing up, my brothers and sisters and I never had any problems in our neighborhood. A lot happened in the community, but it never affected my family directly. My parents taught us to be respectful and to do the right thing, and we taught our own kids the same. We all eventually left the South Side, but we would go back to visit my parents.

On that fateful day in November, I received the call from my dad, who told me that my daughter had been shot. She had been visiting her grandparents and was waiting for the bus to go back home. Kaylyn was not the intended target.