Community members and police on Tuesday called for the perpetrators of gun violence in Buffalo to put down their weapons, following the latest flurry of shootings that saw 21 people injured over the three-day Fourth of July weekend.
"No more shooting. No more killing," several dozen people chanted during a march Tuesday afternoon around the Ferry Grider Homes. That’s where a 3-year-old boy was shot in the head and three others were injured when shots were fired Monday night as a crowd watched fireworks.
The child remained in critical condition in Oishei Children’s Hospital as of late Tuesday morning.
The quadruple shooting happened about 30 feet from Miriom Devers’ front door on Donovan Drive. Her 5-year-old granddaughter, Mattie, had been selling candy in the courtyard where the shooting happened just before the shots rang out.
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"It’s terrible. Can’t even send ‘em out here," Devers said. "Like today, they’re just scared to come outside. It’s tragic."
The 13 shooting incidents over the three-day span ending Monday, none of which resulted in fatalities as of Tuesday afternoon, were the latest in a significant surge in gun violence seen here and in other cities across the country over the past 18 months. CNN reported that there were 400 shootings over the holiday weekend, with more than 150 of them fatal, citing Gun Violence Archive data.
It is not clear what is driving the increase in violent incidents, but law enforcement officials consistently cite the effects of bail reform laws which puts some defendants back on the streets rather than in jail.
In the first six months of 2021, 177 people have been shot in Buffalo, according to the latest Buffalo Police Department data. That’s a 64% increase over the 10-year average of 108, according to a Buffalo News analysis of police data.
There were 120 shooting victims in the first half of 2020 and 78 in the first six months of 2019 in Buffalo, according to police data.
The other victims in the Donovan Drive shooting included two Buffalo men, ages 28 and 27. They were in stable condition at Erie County Medical Center. A 28-year-old Buffalo man was treated and released from the hospital after his foot was grazed by a bullet.
The weekend’s shooting victims also included an 8-year-old who was shot in a park, said Buffalo Police Capt. Jeff Rinaldo.
"This level of violence cannot continue," Rinaldo said during a morning news conference about the weekend rash of gun violence. "It is absolutely disgusting and ... as a community, we need to come together and help put an end to this violence."
Buffalo police on Tuesday conducted their first "Taking It To the Streets" community engagement event since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. Police brass, district chiefs, other commanders and officers gathered near Ashley and Swinburne streets, not far from the scene of a June 24 triple homicide on Ashley.
The event included music and free food. The goal of the event, the likes of which were put on hold because of Covid-19, is for police and the public to interact so the public can deliver their ideas and concerns directly to the police. When the community and police work together, they partner to make a safer community, said Mayor Byron W. Brown.
“This is a critical element of building the relationship between community and police," Brown said. "To be able to effectively solve crime, we need to have a strong relationship with the community where the community feels comfortable providing information to the police on various types of criminal activity."
The department conducts these community events in areas of the city where there are higher levels of shootings and of crime overall, said Police Commissioner Byron C. Lockwood.
Police will be bringing this type of daylong event to other parts of the city, "but right now, this area right here seems to need some attention to it and this is why we’re here today," Lockwood said.
In addition to police, the Mayor’s Impact Team and representatives of violence-interrupter organizations Buffalo Peacemakers, Buffalo SNUG and the Stop the Violence Coalition were on hand.
Nathaniel Richardson, who has lived in the neighborhood for about seven years, said he was glad to see the police presence on Tuesday morning.
Walking toward the gathering with his two granddaughters, Richardson said he doesn’t let the girls go anywhere alone. He also said while the police presence may tamp down criminal activity in the area for a brief period, it likely won’t last long.
"They’re just going to go right back to what they were doing," he said of those responsible for crime in his neighborhood.
Tuesday afternoon’s march around Donovan Drive included several community leaders and pastors, along with the mayor and India Walton, who won the Democratic primary for mayor.
Police are searching for a "person of interest" in Monday’s quadruple shooting. He was seen in the vicinity of Donovan Drive wearing pink pants and a dark-colored T-shirt.
The increase in gun violence comes as Buffalo police have seen a 50% increase in the number of gun arrests compared to last year, Rinaldo said.
Buffalo police are in the process of reviewing the cases of every defendant charged with gun possession to see if additional state charges may be brought or if there’s a possibility for federal charges, he said.
One of the reasons for the increase in shootings is the state’s bail reform, many police and law enforcement officials have said. The reforms, aimed at helping to curb mass incarceration, went into effect last year and prevent judges from setting bail for persons accused of most misdemeanors and nonviolent felonies.
Those changes mean individuals accused of gun possession are being released from custody, sometimes within hours of arrest, Rinaldo said.
"As I’ve said time and time again, people that are arrested with an illegal handgun are our shooting victims the very next day. And our shooting victims on Wednesday are our gun defendants on Thursday. We have to stop that revolving door of people just walking away from serious criminal charges."
Police ask anyone with information about a shooting or homicide to call or text the department’s confidential tip line at 847-2255.
