Community leader calls for action after deadly Grand Rapids shooting | Latest Lifestyle News
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — After a 17-year-old was shot and killed in Grand Rapids Saturday night, community members are speaking out — calling for change and action to stop the violence.
Marian Barrera-Young, the executive director of the Baxter Neighborhood Association, has spent decades working in anti-violence advocacy. She said while the shooting didn’t happen in her neighborhood, the impact is being felt across the city.
Police: Teen shot, killed in southeast Grand Rapids
“I don’t think it’s just Grand Rapids. Violence is ticking up everywhere,” Barrera-Young said.
She’s lived in the area for 30 years and has witnessed the rise in violence firsthand.
“We don’t want to see another death. I don’t wanna see another mother or a family crushed from this type of activity,” she said.
While her organization works to address violence in its own community, Barrera-Young said there’s no simple solution.
“There’s no one fix to it,” she said. “It’s more than an agency problem.”
In light of Saturday night’s tragedy and other recent shootings this summer, she’s urging community members — especially adults — to take a more active role in creating change.
“Everybody has a piece of that puzzle to heal the community,” Barrera-Young said. “We have to learn how to change the mindset of some of the kids in the community and some of the adults in the community because they play a part in it too.”
Community leaders hold emergency meeting on violence in Grand Rapids
She emphasized that teaching de-escalation skills is key to preventing future violence.
“When things happen, the first thing you shouldn’t do is pick up a weapon to solve that problem,” she said.
Barrera-Young said she understands the community is grieving, but she hopes that grief turns into collective action.
“It’s not the police, it’s not Baxter, it’s not just one person trying to do something — everybody has to come together and we gotta figure this out. We gotta do it now,” she said.
Grand Rapids Police Department Chief Eric Winstrom has not released any new updates about the ongoing investigation into Saturday’s shooting.
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