Chynna Battle, Shot Bed-Stuy Mom, Remembered By Hundreds At Funeral

BEDFORD-STUYVESANT, BROOKLYN — Hundreds of people gathered in Brownsville Friday to mourn Chynna Battle, the young Bed-Stuy mother who lost her life in a shootout last week.

The Full Gospel Tabernacle church was packed with friends and family members dressed in white to honor the 21-year-old mother shot dead outside the Stuyvesant Garden Houses the night of July 12th.

“When you in the streets, those streets don’t love you,” said E. Mack, 40, as he stood over his cousin’s coffin. "She don't belong right here.”

Battle was one of two Bed-Stuy mothers to die when a group of men shot into a crowd outside 740 Gates Ave., during an attack police believe may have been an act of retaliation against someone in the crowd.

Neither Battle nor Shaqwanda Staley, 29, are believed to be the intended victims, police said.

Battle worked as a waitress at Applebee’s to support her three-year-old daughter Amelia St. Omare, who appeared at the funeral in the arms of her stepmother, Chinita Cox, 24.

(Chinita Cox carries Battle's daughter, and her step-daughter, Amelia St. Omare out of the Full Gospel Tabernacle church.)

"She was the friend you wanted to have,” Cox said of Amelia’s mother. “She was the life of the party."

"She was beautiful,” said Battle’s aunt Bonnie Washington, 58. "A lot of people loved her — she had two-thousand friends."

Cheryl K. Young, Battle’s second cousin, read an obituary which detailed Battle’s determination to graduate from John Dewey high school in Brooklyn after she gave birth to Amelia her senior year.

“Ensuring that she maintained her high academic achievements, she strived to continue,” said Young, adding that Battle had hoped to join the Navy after graduation, but put those plans on hold to be with Amelia.

"She wanted more bonding time with her daughter."

(Photo courtesy of Jada Kimmia, who posted a GoFundMe campaign for Battle's daughter, Amelia, pictured here.)

"She was contagiously heartwarming, ambitious, generous, talented and a devoted mother,” said Young. “She kept everyone laughing.”

Jada Brown, Battle's older sister, read a poem that recalled the typical problems sisters usually have.

“She follows me around the house and wants to play pretend,” Brown read. “‘I’m too big for that,’ I say, but I’ll always be your friend.”

“It breaks my heart that my sister is sitting down there in that casket,” said Battle's other sister, Fallon Brown. “All because nobody values life, nobody values love.”

Battle’s body was carried out of the church and placed in the back of a hearse as hundreds of people crowded in the street to say their last goodbye.

“We love you Chynna,” a group cried out in unison.

Battle’s minister, Dr. Wayne Scott, stood outside the Louisiana Street church where Battle had worshipped, and said her death made him afraid for his own kids.

“We all have young children,” he said. “If they keep dying at young ages, what's going to happen?"

Header photo and graduation photo courtesy of Jada Kimmia/GoFundMe

All other photos by Kathleen Culliton