Albany Mom Pleads With City After Home Riddled With Bullets

An Albany mom is pleading with government officials after her home was riddled with gunfire earlier this month.

On September 6, 2020, Larae Haywood’s peaceful home life was shattered with gun violence.  Ms. Haywood says she and her family were at home enjoying a peaceful evening when someone shot through her window and shattered that peace.  Since that time, Ms. Haywood’s children have been afraid to step foot inside their once peaceful home.

For two years Larae Haywood and her children lived in their Ezra Prentice apartment with peace and security. That all came to an end as Ms. Haywood was comfortably sitting in her home.  Her son, Marcel Davis shares his mother's worries and frustration.  He said, “It would not make me comfortable sitting there, knowing that my doors and windows are vulnerable, again, and it wasn’t comfortable knowing that my mom sits there all the time.“

Ms. Haywood has spoken to city officials and pleaded with them to help her to find a permanent, safe place to raise her children.  The Ezra Prentice Apartments are managed by the Albany Housing Authority.

A Housing Authority representative, Brian Quinn, says that they are unable to provide a new apartment for Ms. Haywood and her family because there are no four-bedroom apartments available. The Albany County District Attorney’s Office provided one week of hotel fees to Ms. Hayward’s family, but they are unable to help her any further.

This is another side of the crippling effects that gun violence has on our community.  Although Ms. Haywood is okay physically, it is clear that she has suffered a great deal from the gun violence that is skyrocketing in our city.