Mass shooting leads to call for peace
Brownsville residents stand together to demand action following weekend tragedy
BY AIDAN GRAHAM
Locals rallied in Brownsville
on Monday to demand
an end to gun violence following
a mass shooting that left
one dead and 11 wounded last
week.
“It’s about taking back our
community,” said Brownsville
native Alice McKay. “It’s
a call to action to the community,
to let people know that
they don’t have to be a victim
of gun violence.”
Multiple gunmen opened
fi re at the annual Old Timers
Day block party at Hegeman
and Christopher avenues on
July 27, striking a dozen partygoers
— including 38-yearold
Jason Pagan, who later
died at Brookdale Hospital,
cops said.
Police have yet to make
an arrest in relation to the
killing, but authorities are
searching for at least two
shooters, who detectives suspect
may be members of local
street gangs, according to
Police Commissioner James
O’Neill.
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As the investigation continues,
hundreds of Brownsville
residents took to the
streets, marching down
Mother Gaston Boulevard to
demand action.
“I lost my son to gun violence
here in the same community
that I grew up in. It
breaks my heart to have lost a
child — period,” said McKay,
whose son was shot and killed
in 2014. “But to know that this
happened in the same community
that I grew up in and
love is heartbreaking.”
McKay called on Brownsville
residents to band together
to enrich their communities
and provide the youth
with an alternative to a life
on the streets.
“We need to get more resources
for our communities.
We used to have community
centers — not just liquor
stores and laundromats,” she
said. “Part of it is because
we’ve lost resources, we don’t
vote like we need to, and we
don’t advocate for ourselves
like we need to.”
Another demonstrator
spoke bluntly about the need
to invest in the local economy
and create jobs.
“Most of the time when
someone discharges a gun, it’s
about a dollar bill,” said Minister
Mickens. “It’s always about
some kind of currency.”
Mickens took advantage
of the rally to promote his
advocacy group Community
Checkpoints — which
collects donations to hire
security guards to protect
high-crime neighborhoods
— saying communities like
Brownsville need more
boots on the ground in the
war against gun violence.
“Every street is vulnerable
to gun violence. Every
community is vulnerable
to gun violence. Every
playground is the same way,
because you don’t have security
there,” he said. “We
need a real plan to stop
this.”
Police are offering a combined
reward of $10,000 for
information leading to the
arrest and conviction of the
gunmen involved in Saturday’s
murder.
Anyone with information
in regard to this incident
is asked to call the NYPD’s
Crime Stoppers Hotline at
1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for
Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA
(74782). The public can also
submit their tips by logging
onto the CrimeStoppers website
at www.NYPDcrimestoppers.
com, on Twitter @
NYPDTips, or text tips to
274637 (CRIMES) then enter
TIP577.
All calls are confidential.
Ralliers marched down Mother Gaston Boulevard in an effort to raise
awareness to curb gun violence in Brownsville. Photo by Caroline Ourso
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