MELBOURNE, Fla. – Friday will mark two since the death of a toddler, and police still haven’t said who shot the little girl.
Bles’syn Lightner, 2, wasn’t the first young life lost to gun violence in the Melbourne neighborhood surrounding Poplar Lane.
In 2023, just a block away on Cedar Drive, police said Kobe Kirland, 16, was shot and killed, as well.
Like the 2-year-old, police have not publicly identified a suspect in Kirkland’s case, either.
“I don’t feel like Melbourne police digs enough in these children’s cases,” Kirkland’s mother, Patricia Hester, told Brevard County Community Correspondent James Sparvero.
[BELOW: Active leads pursued after shooing inside Melbourne home leaves 2-year-old dead]
In front of the house where police said Lightner’s grandparents, who were injured in the shooting, were babysitting the girl, there’s an addition to her memorial.
Bles’syn’s name is now etched in the chain-link fence alongside balloons, candles, and teddy bears.
“I mean, this child was only 2,” Hester said. “Another innocent child, life is gone.”
Kirkland’s mother offered her words of encouragement to the Lightner family, along with her advice on being resilient.
“I’m just hoping that whomever did it, someone will come forward with this family because I can understand the pain that this family is going through,” she said. “Only you know the feeling of how it feels to lose a child, and you live with it, but then you also can get through it too.”
In 2023, police didn’t do interviews about the shooting of Kirkland, but in a press conference last week about Lightner, Commander Shawn Eising talked about how officers are affected emotionally by these cases too.
“Our police officers, our investigators, they’re parents,” Eising said. “They identify these situations with their own family.”
If anyone has information about either investigation, they can reach police at 321-608-6450 or Crimeline at 800-423-TIPS (8477).
Callers utilizing Crimeline can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward of up to $5,000.