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First Lady Michelle Obama Will Attend Slain Chicago Teen's Funeral

Hadiya Pendleton.
Courtesy of Pendleton family via the Chicago Tribune
/
MCT /Landov
Hadiya Pendleton.

First lady Michelle Obama will attend the funeral of 15-year-old Hadiya Pendleton, who made national news after she was gunned down just a mile from President Obama's Chicago home.

As we reported at the time, Hadiya attended President Obama's inauguration. Her death was mentioned by the White House and during a Senate hearing on gun violence.

The Chicago Tribune reports:

"Scheduled to speak at the funeral is Gov. Pat Quinn, who mentioned Pendleton during his annual State of the State speech on Wednesday as he called for tougher gun control measures. Quinn said he spoke to the teen's family this week.

"'There are no words in the English language, or any language, to relieve the pain of parents who lose a child,' said Quinn, who has two adult sons."

Politico reports that senior advisor Valerie Jarrett and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan will also attend the funeral.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Eyder Peralta is NPR's East Africa correspondent based in Nairobi, Kenya.