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Young Woman Killed Hours After Sister Attends Obama's Speech

Janay McFarlane was shot dead just hours after her younger sister sat feet from President Obama during his speech at Hyde Park Academy Friday.

Janay McFarlane, 18, was shot dead in North Chicago Friday night, just hours after her younger sister Destini Warren, 14, attended President Obama's speech on gun violence at Hyde Park Academy. She was a mother to a three-month-old boy.

McFarlane was walking with friends in the northern suburb when she was gunned down. Two suspects, an 18-year-old and 20-year-old, have been arrested in the killing and charges are pending. McFarlane's mother, Angela Blakely, has finalized her daughter's funeral arrangements for this Friday. 

The Chicago Tribune reports:
Blakely, the mother of both girls, said that the family had been anticipating the President's visit to the school where Destini is a freshman. McFarlane had given birth to her son Jayden, 3 months, and had transferred from Hyde Park Academy to an alternative high school because of the pregnancy, her family said. She was to graduate in June, her family said.

Leading up to the visit, McFarlane frequently mentioned the recent death of Hadiya Pendleton, 15, whose own shooting death a mile from the Obama's home spurred the President's visit.

"It's terrible, it's terrible the only thing I can remember is my daughter telling me, 'Mommy, it's so sad about Hadiya. That makes no sense,' " Blakely said. "She always asked me a lot of questions about death."

The speech resonated even more when her family got the call from McFarlane's father in North Chicago, who told Destini that her sister was dead, she said.

"It was like real painful," said Destini, her voice choking back tears.

Read the full story here.


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(Photo: Family Photo)

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