My son Pietro Swain, better known as Retro, was born July 11, 1993. He was murdered on November 20, 2021. He was 28 years old. As he sat in his car in front of our home on East Fifth Street, he was shot nine times. I heard the shots and looked out my window and saw my son’s car. I thought to myself, thank God he stayed in his car, not knowing that he was the one shot. I ran downstairs to the door and out to his car to say, “I’m so glad you stayed in your car,” only to see him shot numerous times and dead.
It’s a day I will never forget. It is a day that part of me died. It still seems unreal. I still find myself wondering: Did it really happen, or is it just a bad dream? My heart still hurts when I think of him being gone, and I feel so angry, hurt, sad and in disbelief that someone would hurt my child. His murder has not been solved, and they don’t seem to have any leads. I won’t stop until someone is held accountable.