Standing side-by-side on the same sidewalk where a 3-year-old girl had been shot in the right shoulder less than 24 hours earlier, members of several Cure Violence groups chanted “Stop the violence!”

They not only expressed outrage, they promised violence towards children would not be tolerated.

“We're not letting you do it any more,” said Kenya Bryant, a hospital responder with King of Kings Foundation in Queens. “Our kids are not paying for your stuff with their lives. That little 3-year-old is going to be traumatized forever.”  

What You Need To Know

  • Cure Violence groups advocate for increased funding from the state and city to help with their intervention efforts to curb violence

  • Mother of 3-year-old girl who was shot in the right shoulder Friday night in Brownsville tells Councilman Charles Barron she is thankful for outpouring of support

  • Mayor Eric Adams expresses commitment to protect the innocent from gun violence

In response to that shooting, which took place Friday night just outside a Brooklyn day care center, Mayor Eric Adams on Saturday expressed his commitment to protect the innocent from gun violence. 

“I’m gonna have the conversation of keeping guns off the streets,” Adams said. “The streets of this city, and making sure 3-year-olds are not shot in our city." 

Councilman Charles Barron, who represents the district where the young girl was shot, said instead of adding more cops to the streets of Brownsville, the city and state need to allocate more funding to Cure Violence groups.

He said the one-on-one intervention efforts provided by these groups not only reduces crime, it introduces young people to role models.

“I guarantee y'all,” Barron said. “If we had, instead of $3 million, if we had $100 million, which is nothing, that's lunch money in this city. If we had $100 million dollars, we could cover every block and there wouldn't be another shot taken." 

Terrence Burgess, 31, is a violence interrupter supervisor with Man Up! Inc., based in East New York. After getting out of prison 10 years ago, Burgess said having a positive interaction with a member of a Cure Violence group allowed him to change his life for the better. 

“He was able to give me more things and offer more things to change my mind and that allowed me to start transforming and switching over my mindset from that point,” Burgess said.

Barron said he spoke to the victim’s mother and she is very thankful for everyone who has expressed support.