The streets are not safe. Back on Tuesday, a drive-by shooting occurred on the busy Third Avenue West, Birmingham, Alabama. The Shot Spotter used by the police reported that around 20 rounds were fired. The entire incident unfolded at around 8 pm by the 1400 block of Third Avenue. A family of 5 was seriously injured as the perpetrator opened fire on their SUV without any plausible reason.

Cam’Ron Silmon-Craig from Buffs took to his Instagram story after learning about the news to share his prayers for the juveniles who were caught in the crossfire. “SB get me updated on this, praying for them SMH,” Craig wrote. Out of the 5 people, 2 of them were juveniles. King and Kam Pritchett, 9 and 7 years old, were inside the SUV, which was openly fired upon. Kam was struck in the head twice, and King was shot in the legs.

Both of the kids were in critical condition and were rushed to Children’s of Alabama. Costella Adams-Terrell, who is the president of the Rising West Princeton Neighborhood Association, stated her frustration during an interview. “There have been multiple shootings and deaths, this has been going on for months,” Adams-Terrell mentioned during an interview.

Their much younger brother, Kodi, miraculously escaped injuries. The mother of the boys also escaped any form of injury and another adult male present in the vehicle was shot but sustained non-life-threatening injuries.

Kam had to undergo surgery because of his injuries. This child was struck in the cheek as well. This isn’t even the first time someone from the Buffs has raised fingers at violence against kids. A few hours back, Deion Sanders had also stepped up to support a young kid who was being bullied. However, all of these issues point towards a much bigger problem. Back in 2023, nearly 43000 people lost their lives due to gun violence. This trend has trickled into 2024 as well.

Kids are losing their lives

As per recent stats, around 11000+ people have lost their lives in the US because of incidents involving gun violence. The largest age groups who have been affected the most are children and adolescents between the ages of 4 to 19 years old.

Research conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that the mortality rate increased by 18% between 2018 and 2022. The worst part is the fact that much of this growth has been accelerated by the 22.8% increase in firearms-related injuries.

“That’s sad because you got your, your children in the car and, and you just, you know, this is outrageous,” Adams-Terrell had pointed out. We gotta band together and work towards fixing this problem. Because if not now, then when?