Hilltop youth center patio dedicated for Issa Jeylani, 15, killed in 2022 shooting

Zerqa Abid feels Issa Jeylani's presence at the MY Project USA Hilltop Youth Empowerment Center on Sullivant Avenue.

Issa, 15, who was shot and killed July 22, 2022, while playing soccer with his friends, was the only young person at the center's ribbon cutting in September 2021, said Abid, the center's founder and president.

She was speaking to an audience of about 80 people Friday afternoon at a ribbon cutting for a patio space named after Issa.

Issa played soccer with the Hilltop Tigers Soccer Club, part of the nonprofit MY Project USA, and was the only player not stuck in traffic with coaches for the ribbon cutting that day, Abid said.

"He cut the ribbon that day," she said Friday, just before his mother, Madina Ali, and his older brother and Tigers Coach Ali Jeylani cut another ribbon in Issa's honor as part of the dedication of the center's newly named Issa's Peace Patio. "Everything that happened after that, it's because of him."

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A white pergola shades the patio on the east side of the building, which is lined with flower boxes and is to four black picnic tables. On the wall is a mural about Issa, and an apple tree was planted in front of the center in his honor.

"Issa was one of the kindest, most honest, most respectful kids I have seen in my life. This was his home," Abid said.

The day after Issa was killed, Abid remembers having a conversation inside the center about efforts to end gun violence and deaths like his. She said she knew there needed to be more spaces to have those conversations and, though the patio existed before Issa's death, it was after it that the center decided to dedicate it to him.

Ohio Sen. Michelle Reynolds brought a commendation for the center, and she and Ohio Rep. Dontavius Jarrells spoke about Issa and against gun violence.

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"This shows me that there are a lot of people that care about Issa," his mother, Ali, said of the event as she spoke Somali through an interpreter. "I want every mother to hear this, and we want people to come around us and stand up for this because this gun violence is killing all our children, and mothers have had enough of it."

The event included prayers and words from other community leaders.

"We hope this place becomes a place of peace, learning, relaxation and a lot of talk about how to address gun violence," Abid said. "May he rest in peace."

dking@dispatch.com

@DanaeKing