Community organizers call for end to shootings after 11-year-old’s death

Yolanda Fields lost her two brothers to gun violence. She lost her stepson. Several friends. A cousin. Another cousin’s son.

Fields knows what it’s like when loved ones are killed.

And as an advisory neighborhood commissioner in Southeast Washington, she thought it was important to show up at a Wednesday community meeting to address a spate of violence in the District in which 19 people were shot in five days.

“When you start killing children, that’s an issue,” Fields said. “That’s a problem. That’s when things need to stop.”

Karon Brown, 11, was fatally shot on July 18 while fleeing a fight between children and adults outside a McDonald’s at Naylor Road and Alabama Avenue in Southeast. He is one of five children between the ages of 11 and 17 who have been slain this year, according to D.C. police.

Community organizer Ronald Moten led Wednesday night’s meeting, held nearly two weeks after Karon’s death, at Check It Enterprises, a clothing store launched by mostly LGBTQ young people. Moten, who advises the group, also partners with the business.

Though violent crime overall is down 13 percent this year compared with the same period last year in the police patrol area where Karon was shot, deadly violence remains a concern. Three other people were killed this year in the area, which includes the communities of Skyland, Garfield Heights, Buena Vista and Woodland.

At Wednesday’s meeting, after the talking stopped and the roughly two dozen attendees munched on fried fish, Moten called for action.

He wants the owner of a gas station in the area where Karon was shot to stop people from loitering and for police to step up enforcement at a nearby bus stop, where he said people do “all types of things.” He also said there is a need to provide more services and opportunities as an alternative for young people.

“When we sit back and don’t do anything, we’re just as much of the problem as anybody else,” Moten said.

The BP gas station sits across from Stanton Elementary School, one of the reasons Moten said loitering around the station is a concern.

D.C. police have said they are targeting repeat gun offenders as part of their strategy to reduce violence.

Fields said that it’s time for the community to step up, calling for people to stop blaming the police and the mayor. People should work to settle disputes before they turn violent, she said.

“Because we’re the ones that live in these communities,” Fields said. “They don’t live in our community. But we do. Enough is enough, and it’s time for us to do something about it.”

Chris Thomas, who attended the meeting, mentors young men in the area. He works to bring awareness about mental-health issues and to de-escalate potentially violent situations.

“How many other brothers have thought about picking up a gun? It’s too easy. Show me how you can put it down,” Thomas, 32, said. He lives in Glenarden, Md., but said his 9-year-old daughter goes to a charter school in Ward 8, the D.C. Council division in which Karon was killed.

David Connerty-Marin, 54, lives in the Hill East area but came to the meeting to show support across the Anacostia River. He became involved with Moms Demand Action after the Parkland, Fla., school shooting.

“A lot of what we do is show up and let people know we’re supporting,” said Connerty-Marin, wearing a bright-red Moms Demand Action shirt.

He said he liked the focus on action that Moten brought to the meeting.

“I think sort of the unfortunate takeaway is there doesn’t seem to be, as Ron was saying, the level of outrage that one would expect at this point,” Connerty-Marin said. “But at the same time, it’s really encouraging to see people come together.”

Moten also holds policy and action meetings at Check It Enterprises on Mondays. Next week, he said, he is inviting D.C. Council members and other officials.

“I think the value of a meeting like this is you bring in all these different groups . . . you get to inform each other about the work that we’re doing and see how that fits together in the larger group,” Connerty-Marin said.

The meeting made one thing clear: Attendees were tired of the deaths, of inaction. They were tired of the same thing happening again and again.

Almost a year before Karon’s death, 10-year-old Makiyah Wilson was fatally shot on her way to an ice cream truck. The District has recorded 98 homicides this year, up 5 percent from 2018.

Fields said that an end to the violence will not be achieved overnight but that the community has to stay in the fight.

“If not, our future will be gone,” Fields said. “So if you gonna walk around and kill all the kids, our future is gone.”

Fields has two sons, ages 23 and 28. She said she wants to do all she can to keep them — and every other parent’s child — safe from gun violence.

Peter Hermann contributed to this report.