CINCINNATI — A community is mourning the loss of a 16-year-old who police said was shot and killed Saturday evening in South Fairmount. At the same time, some community members are working to prevent future tragedies.
Activists at Third Presbyterian Church in East Westwood are expanding gun violence prevention programs to all of the neighborhoods in Cincinnati police's District Three. They said it's in part because of a recent rise in shootings.
"We're seeing a lot more teens be shot so we're trying to engage them," Te’Airea Powell, a gun violence prevention activist said.
One way Third Presbyterian Church is working to do this is by holding events like basketball tournaments and Monday's Juneteenth celebration. Staff and volunteers with the church said they want to celebrate the holiday, but there's another goal behind any of their events.
"If there's free food, if there's resources, we can get them here and kind of help them get what they actually need," Powell said.
Powell said they hope to connect parents and kids alike with resources, hoping to prevent gun violence.
For some, like Carol Brown, this work is personal.
"When my son got shot on McHenry in 2019 ... it just brought a lot to my heart because no one wants to lose their child and feel that kind of pain," she said.
Brown now works at Third Presbyterian Church in East Westwood. Its work to prevent gun violence is expanding to other neighborhoods at a time when shootings in South Fairmount are outpacing last year's numbers.
According to Cincy Insights, there have been seven shootings in South Fairmount this year, including the shooting Saturday on Quebec Road that claimed the life of a 16-year-old boy. At this time last year, there had only been two shootings.
Tony Stillwell, the founder of Minority Business Group came across the crime scene Saturday night on his way to work on a truck. It's the vehicle he plans to use for a tour to promote the Stop the Gun Violence initiative.
"I felt different ways. I felt overwhelmed, I felt outgunned, I felt disappointed," he said. "It has to stop, it has to stop ... I mean we're working hard, that's our mission to stop it. To do the best we can, do our part, we need other people to do their part."
And Stillwell's message to those pulling the trigger is that there's another way. He said his organization encourages people to work things out through boxing instead.
"We all need to come together and when we get to that point that we are a village again, then it will get better and better each day," Brown said.
Between responding to crime scenes to help connect people with resources and working to prevent these crime scenes from appearing in the first place, the staff and volunteers at Third Presbyterian Church are asking for a village.
"How can you help?" said Powell. "Do you have teenagers that you know are going down the wrong path? You can help them by reaching out."
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