CINCINNATI — More than 200 friends, cheer team members, neighbors, family and more came to Ryan Park in Westwood Thursday evening to celebrate the life of 9-year-old Da'Myiah Burton-Pickens.
Burton-Pickens was shot and killed in a drive-by shooting late Monday night.
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Before the balloons took flight, there was a lot of prayer, cheers from the West Side Panthers Cheer squad and tears from a grieving mother who says her daughter wasn't on Earth long.
"Y'all showing love for my baby," Danieka Pickens told the crowd surrounding her. "Y'all showing over for her man. I will be laying my baby to rest Monday."
Members of Da'Myiah's cheer team said she was the best friend a friend could be.
Zyarra Walker believes she was looking down on them during the balloon release.
"It is super sad, but, at the same time, there's a lot of people who came here with all their kindness, and released balloons and stuff all just for her," Walker said, "And I feel like Da'Myiah is super grateful to have this big of a family and to have this many friends."
Walker said the cheer squad would train and dance harder than ever before in her honor.
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For Patrisha Kist, Da'Myiah's first and third grade teacher at Alliance Academy of Cincinnati, the feeling of disbelief persists.
"It was just a month ago were were in school together, and she was sitting right in front of my desk," Kist said.
Kist said there were a lot of lessons to be learned from Da'Myiah's death.
First and foremost was that the type of violence that lead to her death has been, and continues to be, much too costly for everyone in the surrounding community.
"The violence, it just has to stop," she said. "There's no excuse for a 9-year-old to pass away like this in the safety of her own home."
Pickens told the crowd that Da'Myiah's funeral service would be held on Monday, but said details had yet to be finalized.
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