Tragedy in the Hood

It seems like news coverage has been going on about Seth Guerrero and his father and it is a tragedy for all involved especially for both families. Growing up in a neighborhood where everyone knows everyone and has been hard for me to think about because of the facts at hand and what is being perceived and what the facts are. As the Kansas City website says it has been hard to take as this article.

Co-workers, neighbors stunned by death of woman and her baby
By MARK WIEBE AND DAWN BORMANN
The Kansas City Star
Nicolette Lyons-Reed was described as “friendly and nice” by her neighbors in Kansas City, Kan. Her co-workers at Argentine Library were so upset by the news of her violent death that they did not come to work this morning.

Lyons-Reed and her 8-month-old daughter, Leah, were found shot to death at their home Sunday morning. The woman’s 3-year-old son, Seth, was found at a motel in Denton, Texas, with her ex-husband, Andrew Guerrero. Police say Guerrero, who was arrested Monday morning, is a “person of interest” in the case.

Broken glass littered the yard at Lyons-Reed’s home, and a window had recently been boarded up. A yellow toy bulldozer and dump truck rested in the front yard.

Jeanne Purinton said Lyons-Reed had lived in the neighborhood in the 2000 block of South 10th Terrace for a few years, but she had not seen anyone else but Lyons-Reed and her children living in the house.

“She was kind of private. She’d just go to work, come back home and go inside,” Purinton said.

“She was always friendly and nice. She seemed like a nice girl.”

Although Purinton did not see Seth playing outside much, “Sometimes little Seth would run over to my front door.”

At the Argentine Library, the news was especially shocking.

Not only was Lyons-Reed a member of the staff, but Guerrero’s mother also works there.

On Monday, only a few members of the 13-person staff reported to work.

“They are a pretty close staff,” said Sonia Smith, library spokeswoman.

Those who did arrive were encouraged to take some time off.

“We respect that people need to grieve and don’t see any reason to make them come in and work,” Smith said.

Instead, library employees from other branches of the Kansas City, Kan., system volunteered to help out.

Lyons-Reed has worked at the Argentine branch of the Kansas City, Kan., Public Library since 2001. She began as a student intern and joined the staff full time in 2002. She was a library associate and mainly responsible for working at the circulation desk of the branch library.

A counseling team will be on hand throughout the week or as needed at the library to help employees deal with their grief.