Family of 3 year old shot to death in Buffalo receives support

Buffalo, New York (WBEN) – What would the city of Buffalo be without the continued support of anti-violence groups and compassionate community members?

The community continues to show support and provide resources to the family who lost their son, brother and 3-year-old grandson, Ramone Carter, who was shot and killed while riding his tricycle alongside of her 7-year-old sister in the city of Buffalo Friday during a family function near the intersection of Domedion Avenue and Heminway Street.

“We’re broken. As a community, we’re really broken,” said Leonard Lane of the Buffalo FATHERS, his group coming to the family’s aid Monday afternoon.

“Just this random shooting. It was really horrible, within our community, in our neighborhood, and to hit a three-year-old, it makes it even more traumatic, not just for this family, who is five years old . other brothers and sisters, but also for the community which is still in mourning after the last mass shooting, which occurred a few kilometers away.

Lane referring to the TOPS mass shooting on Jefferson Avenue, which occurred a little over two years ago, a few miles southwest of Domedion Avenue.

Lane knows the feeling of losing a loved one so new in life, his 20 month old granddaughter hit by a car on Fernhill Avenue less than 10 years ago, he knows that when situations like this happen in city, the Buffalo Strong community need to show their support.

“We’re here just trying to find resources, not just for this family, but for this community, that are not deserved. What we need to do is bring much needed resources, not only to this family, but to its entire community, and let them know that we care for them, we love them.

On Saturday, many community members came out to show their support for the family with a prayer vigil, which included community awareness and anti-violence groups showing their support, including members of Parents Most Precious ( MVP) of Buffalo, of which Carter’s mother is a proud member, and the Buffalo Peacemakers, who continue to be a valuable resource for families with children of all ages.

Pastor James Giles of Buffalo Peacemakers and MVP notes that the work of these groups ending violence through simple education and conversations has done a good job of curbing tragedies, but that more resources are needed.

“We need to get more resources for these groups that engage directly with this element that would dare take a gun, shoot someone and dare take another. We found people who were good people to do that. Stopping individual interference or interrupting that process You know, I can’t tell you how many lives we deter people from wanting to hurt or do harm to others.

But Giles also believes that illegal, automatic weapons on the streets are another problem that needs to be addressed. Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown said Saturday he wants to see illegal guns finally disappear from city streets and is once again calling on members of Congress to pass common-sense legislation.

“We simply have way too many guns on the streets of our city,” Giles noted. “And I’m not sure what the system itself is going to do to solve this problem. But we have to find a way to remove these automatic weapons that are designed to kill multiple people in a very short period of time.”