End gun violence, says mother of 3-year-old shooting victim

The 3-year-old was playing outside and riding a tricycle Friday evening with his other siblings and friends on Domedion Avenue.

Then his mother, Shakenya Griffin, heard gunshots and ran outside looking for her children.

She first saw her daughter – Jamia Griffin, 7, Ramone’s sister – who was grazed by a bullet.

Red wasn’t so lucky.

“He ran straight towards me and he was full of blood. I collapsed in my neighbor’s grass and said call 911,” Griffin told the Buffalo News Saturday morning.

“Out of nowhere, shots rang out and children were hit,” Mayor Byron W. Brown said during a news conference Saturday afternoon at the Buffalo Police Department headquarters on Court Street .

Both children were taken to the hospital after the shooting, which occurred around 9:30 p.m., police spokesman Michael J. DeGeorge said in a statement. Ramone was pronounced dead at Erie County Medical Center.

Ramon would have been 4 years old on July 6.

His sister Jamia was being treated at Oishei Children’s Hospital.

“She will be physically fine,” Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia said at the news conference.

Investigators have made significant progress in the case and the community has been very helpful, officials said.

Two persons of interest were questioned Friday evening at BPD headquarters and ultimately released, Gramaglia said. A firearm was recovered Friday evening and will be tested.

At this point, law enforcement officials believe it was a random act of violence and that there was one gunshot and one shooter, Gramaglia said, “but ultimately it will be determined “.

Children were not targeted.

Authorities still need help and are looking for more witnesses.

“We are talking about a 3-year-old baby who has not yet celebrated his fourth birthday,” Gramaglia said. “We need your help. We need to get to the bottom of this. I’m confident that we will get to the bottom of this for the family.”

At the time of the incident, there was no party, gathering or other event, said Mia Ayers-Goss, executive director of Most Valuable Parent, an anti-gun violence organization.

The organization involves parents and guardians of Buffalo school children to help keep the peace. Griffin has been an active member of MVP for some time, Ayers-Goss said.

“It’s something she’s passionate about as far as addressing gun violence and trying to reduce gun violence,” Ayers-Goss said. “So it’s definitely something that’s close to his heart.” We really want to make sure people pay attention to this, and we need to do something about this violence.

Griffin lost his mother about a year and a half ago, Ayers-Goss said. “So she’s really going through this.”

Brown, who knows Griffin, called her a “strong woman.”

“She’s an active woman in the community… She’s constantly working with other families, working with children, trying to keep families safe, trying to keep children in our communities safe, and that happens to his children,” Brown said, visibly upset.

“I think we should all be shaken when something like this happens to a member of our community…I’m shaken. I feel the pain of it right now. This happens too often. This is not the first time a child has been killed in our community. And it’s happening all over the country,” Brown said. “As mayor of the city of Buffalo, as a member of this community, as a father of this community, I take this very personally.”

Meanwhile, Griffin is left with the pain and heartbreak of losing his son in this way.

“All this violence has to stop,” Griffin said. “It’s too much.”

Anyone with information is asked to call or text the Buffalo Police hotline at 716-847-2255.