Community peacemakers speak about recent gun violence

Two weeks ago, Pertelle Gilmore received an urgent phone call—there was a conflict going on at the Westhaven public housing community. Joined by a few other members of the B.U.C.K. Squad, he rushed to the scene to urge everyone involved to stand down and put away their guns. But while the violence interrupters talked to one group, the other one started shooting.

“Two truckloads of guys pulled up [and] let loose,” says Gilmore, executive director of the B.U.C.K.—Brothers United to Cease the Killing—Squad. “Kids were everywhere. There were probably about 30 kids out there.”

“Someone got shot that night,” he says. The victim survived, and is in stable condition.

According to Gilmore, this shooting could have been prevented if the all-volunteer squad had enough violence interrupters on the scene to deescalate both parties at the same time. But a majority of the squad’s members were at work, and couldn’t get there before the bullets started flying.

Read the full, original feature here on C-Ville.com: https://www.c-ville.com/heating-up