DeVonlee and DeVonye Hatter walked into the Calumet Township Medical Center on Tuesday night to find a Christmas tree surrounded by gifts, though they weren’t from Santa.
They came through the help of rapper Lil Zay Osama and Roseland Cease Fire.
For DeVonlee, a PlayStation 5, complete with a controller and the latest NBA game, as well as Hot Wheels tracks, a toy Bronco truck and new clothes. For his younger sister, about a dozen Barbie dolls, princess dresses and a manicure set.
The children, ages 10 and 6, received the gifts more than a month after they and their mother, Corshawnda Hatter, were attacked by seven children while walking home from school in the South Deering neighborhood.
“Knowing I have people behind me, I’m very thankful,” said Hatter, at the holiday event. “I’m so grateful for the community helping me and my kids. … I didn’t know we had so many supporters.”
Authorities said the group attacked Hatter, 33, and her children near Orville Bright Elementary School in the 10600 block of South Bensley Avenue in South Deering around 3 p.m. on Nov. 17. Hatter and her son were taken to Advocate Trinity Hospital where they were listed in serious condition at the time.
The suspects, ranging in age from 10 to 13, were charged with misdemeanor battery causing bodily harm and assigned to counseling before being released, police said. Hatter suggested she wanted stiffer charges filed.
Lil Zay Osama said he had seen a video of the attack that had gone viral. As a former Chicagoan and a parent himself, he wanted to give back to the kids and their mom after their traumatic experience. The gifts were picked out after phone calls with the kids where they discussed their interests and favorite recording artists.
“I got kids,” Osama told reporters over a video call from his home in California before the Hatters arrived.
After the attack, Mayor Brandon Johnson said on social media that he was “deeply disturbed” by the videos of the attack that circulated widely online. Johnson said his office had been working with police and the Chicago Housing Authority to support the family, who were relocated, and respond to the incident. He said the police would deploy “additional resources” to the area, and community groups would provide safe passage for students and families at the elementary school.
Osama said he blames kids having too much time on their hands and a lack of things to do, and said he’d like to see more after-school programs in response to the incident.
The rapper is a product of such enrichment programs. As a kid, Osama would make use of a recording studio at the Harold Washington Cultural Center, setting the course for his path as an artist and giving him a place to be outside school hours.
“We need positive distractions from the streets,” he said.
But despite the gifts for her children and a $650 check from Roseland Cease Fire, Hatter has a long way to go toward recovering from the attack, with some wounds that she said may never heal.
She told reporters she was unable to have children due to her injuries and that she had retained a lawyer.
“I’m not sure how I’m gonna go on with this much hurt,” Hatter said. “I’m still fighting for my justice.”