Remembering Wyshina Harris

Many of you may know that for my first internship with UTA I worked at the After-School Academy run by Central Dallas Ministries in a Dallas Housing Authority complex called Turner Courts. Every day I would go to this south Dallas neighborhood to help about 40 children with their homework, through learning enhancement centers, and help serve them dinner before we sent them home.

Wyshina Harris was the Coodinator of this program at the time. She spent her mornings preparing for lesson plans, gathering supplies, and holding parent meetings. Then when the kids rushed in after school, she lead our team in playing and working with the kiddos.

Since then the ASA has gone through some changes and she was laid off in May. However, she got a job at a liquor store near the home that she bought this year (she lived at Turner Courts when we were working together), and had recently been promoted to Assistant Manager.

Saturday morning Wyshina was on her way to work - for the early shift beginning at 7:00am - when a car pulled up behind hers and someone fired shots through her back window. One bullet struck her in the neck, and she died. (Click the title of this post "Remembering Wyshina Harris" - above for the Dallas Morning News story.) Wyshina, also a six-year Air Force veteran (she served in Desert Storm), left behind her 12-year-old daughter Jazmine and her 7-year-old son Jordan.

Jazmine, (Santa), Jordan, and Wyshina - winter 2007

I've been struggling with this since I found out about it on Sunday evening. There were no witnesses. Police have questioned one "person of interest", but have no suspects. It is not known if Wyshina was targeted or if this was the result of road rage or some other "random" cause. Now a $5,000 reward has been offered for information leading to Wyshina's murderer's arrest and indictment.

I haven't seen Wyshina or my other co-workers from the ASA in months, and feel completely disconnected from this whole thing, which I think explains why I've struggled so much with it.

Please keep Jazmine, Jordan, and their family in your prayers as we all try to move forward in this great loss.

~ Catherine