Families and activists in Arkansas calling for change after three separate shootings left youngsters injured

Arkansas – There have been three shootings in or around the Little Rock region in the past week, and all three have involved juveniles.

A Jacksonville gunshot last week injured a 5-year-old. The next Thursday, two teenagers were wounded in a separate shooting incident in Little Rock. Another two youngsters were wounded in a Little Rock shooting the following day.

None of the three shootings have resulted in an arrest as of Monday night.

While authorities look into the matter, victims of gun violence are demanding action.

Glenda Roseburrow’s grandson Jaylin, who was 20 years old, was murdered by gun violence a little over a year ago.

“We used to come together for Sunday dinners and laugh and talk. See that’s gone forever and we know we can’t get that back,” she explained.

These days, she keeps in touch with other relatives who have also lost loved ones to gun violence and is joining their efforts to bring about reform.

“We can talk about it for two or three wait weeks, and it likes it fades. It goes on and on until we stop the murders,” Roseburrow said.

After three shootings in the Central Arkansas area wounded minors last week, her annoyance has only increased.

“Arkansas Stop the Violence” and similar activist groups are responding to family members’ calls for action.

“I want to be an intervention and prevention center, you know, coming and saying, ‘You’re going in the wrong direction, I just want to let y’all know, right now, that’s not the path to take,” said Executive Director Reverend Benny Johnson.

By coordinating juvenile programs and mentoring groups, Johnson aims to divert troubled youth from violent activities.

“We needed to solve our differences about the acts of violence, and we can do it, we can talk things out. And I really believe that,” Johnson added.
Roseburrow and other grieving family members are persistent in their pursuit of that transformation.

“When you do something like that to a family, there’s a hurt and turn away that nothing no one could ever replace,” she said.
Police in Little Rock have stated that they will keep looking into the recent shootings and that violent crime in the city as a whole is trending downward.

Please contact your local police if you have any information regarding the latest shootings.