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‘I can’t count anymore’ A conversation about gun violence following Richmond mass shooting

Flowers were laid next what appears to be a blood-stained sidewalk in front of the Altria Theater which was the site of a mass shooting after a graduation ceremony, Wednesday, June 7, 2023, in Richmond, Va.
Steve Helber
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FR171958 AP
Flowers were laid next what appears to be a blood-stained sidewalk in front of the Altria Theater which was the site of a mass shooting after a graduation ceremony, Wednesday, June 7, 2023, in Richmond, Va.

A shooting outside a high school graduation in Richmond has left a father and son dead, and five others injured. It’s a mass shooting, and police believe the shooter was targeting one person he knew.

Mental health support is available from Richmond Behavioral Health. Call 804-819-4100.

As police removed caution tape, Reverend Donte McCutchen was praying at the scene of the shooting in Monroe Park Tuesday night. That same night, elsewhere in the city, two other shootings left three more high school students hurt.

McCutchen works with the Trauma Healing Response Network, providing prevention and support after gun violence. He began the work after he lost his friend Nicole.

"My friend Nicole we were all like little kids. And that was when I first learned that this type of stuff could happen. And the memory of that has never left me," McCutchen said. "And so, I have honestly made a vow that I will continue this work no matter where I go, no matter what I become. My people still matter."

"I’m really sorry for your loss. Losses. How many friends and family have you lost to gun violence," asked Noe-Payne.

"Wow. I honestly cannot count. And I’m sorry to even say that. Wow. Uh. Yeah. Uhm, yeah. I don’t, I can’t count. I can’t count anymore," he replied. "I almost had to check my pulse to make sure I was even still here today. When I got the call because I did the work but I’m not sure I knew what I even felt." 

"But that call that you got that said someone’s been shot, come to the hospital. I mean how often have you gotten that call here in Richmond in the past six months or year," Noe-Payne asked.

"Looking back at the past six months or year I’ve gotten that call… I think from the beginning of the year to now I think it was only two weeks that I did not get a call," McCutchen said. "And one of those two weeks I thought it was a mistake. I had to go back and check my data cause I was so used to getting the calls."

"That trauma-informed response the day after, the week after, the years after… what can that look like in the community," asked Noe-Payne.

"It can look like educational things. You know, prevention work, intervention work; where we teach about guns, firearm, fire safety. Also, conflict resolution. How does that, how do we channel this energy and how do we let it out? Our frustration and just simple communication. I think education is the way and care coupled together, it is the way. We showed up to the scene because there was an incident. But we have to show up to the scene before the incident if we really do care," McCutchen replied.

"And I said policing was great but that was total sarcasm. We police by educating. We police by caring. We police by unifying. That’s how we do this. And that’s how we get this thing down. We want it to zero, and I think it’s possible, but the people must know we care. 

That was Reverend Donte McCutchen. He and other community organizers have been callingon the city to fund targeted group violence intervention.

Earlier this yearRichmond received $300 thousand in funds for community-based gun violence intervention. Officials spent the money on window tinting and ballistic door panels for police cars.

This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.

Mallory Noe-Payne is a Radio IQ reporter based in Richmond.