'It's like a war zone' - Air Force veteran in D.C. comforts children plagued by gun violence

Record ID: 1632048

  • Title: 'It's like a war zone' - Air Force veteran in D.C. comforts children plagued by gun violence
  • Date: 13th August 2021
  • Summary: HILLCREST HEIGHTS, MARYLAND, UNITED STATES (JULY 30, 2021) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) JAWANNA HARDY, THE FOUNDER OF "GUNS DOWN FRIDAY", SORTING THROUGH BALLOONS TO PLACE AT GRAVESITES AND SAYING: "All right, so we'll do orange for Davon, because that's his favorite color. That's his football team. And then we'll do blue for Amir." PAN FROM HARDY'S DAUGHTER, DNAYJAH JOSEPH, HOLDING STUFFED TOY, AND KATE ROSS HOLDING BALLOONS HARDY, HER DAUGHTER, AND ROSS WALKING ACROSS CEMETERY AND KNEELING BEFORE GRAVE OF DAVON MCNEAL HARDY GETTING UP AND PLACING FLAG AT MEMORIAL (SOUNDBITE) (English) JAWANNA HARDY, THE FOUNDER OF "GUNS DOWN FRIDAY", SAYING: "I sometimes feel, like, hopeless. Like, sometimes, I really feel like I want to--, I can, like, bring a child back to life. I just have all types of thoughts." VARIOUS OF HARDY TRIMMING GRASS AROUND GRAVESTONE (SOUNDBITE) (English) JAWANNA HARDY, THE FOUNDER OF "GUNS DOWN FRIDAY", SAYING: "What we're doing is real. It's like a war zone. It's like being in the military." HARDY GETTING INTO "GUNS DOWN FRIDAY" VAN HARDY AND HER DAUGHTER PUTTING ON SEATBELTS WIDE SHOT OF VAN DRIVING THROUGH CEMETERY (SOUNDBITE) (English) JAWANNA HARDY, THE FOUNDER OF "GUNS DOWN FRIDAY", SAYING: "Every Friday, another child was being murdered in the streets of Washington, D.C. So, we gathered, and we had a rally, and we planned to go into the communities every Friday. So that Friday came and not many people showed up. So, I decided to take 'Guns Down Friday' and make it my own. But, yeah, I was just so tired of seeing all the violence, seeing the children's lives being lost." WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES (AUGUST 30, 2021) (REUTERS) BACK VIEW OF VAN DRIVING DOWN CITY STREETS INTERIOR VIEW OF HARDY DRIVING VAN EXTERIOR OF VAN DRIVING DOWN STREET (SOUNDBITE) (English) JAWANNA HARDY, THE FOUNDER OF "GUNS DOWN FRIDAY", WALKING OUTSIDE APARTMENT COMPLEX WITH MEGAPHONE AND SAYING: "Today is 'Guns Down Friday.' Guns down in our home, street, and community. Y'all come on down here and get these - Marco, where you going? I've got some water balloons for you." (SOUNDBITE) (English) JAWANNA HARDY, THE FOUNDER OF "GUNS DOWN FRIDAY", AS CHILDREN GRAB WATER BALLOONS FROM BACK OF VAN, SAYING: "Instead of shooting your brother, you're going to throw a water balloon at your brother..." (SOUNDBITE) (English) JAWANNA HARDY, THE FOUNDER OF "GUNS DOWN FRIDAY", SPEAKING THROUGH MEGAPHONE AND SAYING: "They better not pout; they better not cry." CHILD WRAPPING WATER BALLOONS IN SHIRT (SOUNDBITE) (English) JAWANNA HARDY, THE FOUNDER OF "GUNS DOWN FRIDAY", WATCHING CHILDREN HAVE WATER BALLOON FIGHT AND SAYING THROUGH MEGAPHONE: "Hey, don't hit me with that - oh, watch out! It's a war out here." CHILD THROWING WATER BALLOON AT ANOTHER CHILD (SOUNDBITE) (English) JAWANNA HARDY, FOUNDER OF "GUNS DOWN FRIDAY", SAYING: "Stormiyah Jackson, she lived right there (POINTING). Karon Brown, he lived over there (POINTING). And [Herbow], he lived right there (POINTING). So, we come into these neighborhoods - these are friends of these kids - so we just do all we can to show love." YOUNG PEOPLE HAVING WATER BALLOON FIGHT (SOUNDBITE) (English) ARMANI CHAMBERS, 13-YEAR-OLD LOCAL RESIDENT, SAYING: "Down the street, just like two hours ago, [there were] three shots - had to get to booking it." (SOUNDBITE) (English) RASHAD BATES, 12-YEAR-OLD LOCAL RESIDENT, SAYING: "Just ignore it. Don't look out the window, because you never know if the bullet is coming toward your window." BATES THROWING WATER BALLOONS (SOUNDBITE) (English) KATE ROSS, "GUNS DOWN FRIDAY" DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS, SAYING: "So, I carry tourniquets and gauze, because in D.C. on the south side, it takes the ambulance 15 to 20 minutes to respond and the level one trauma unit is 40 minutes away. So, a lot of kids are driving themselves to the hospital and not making it because of blood loss." YOUNG PEOPLE HAVING WATER BALLOON FIGHT WOMAN WATCHING FROM APARTMENT WINDOW (SOUNDBITE) (English) JAWANNA HARDY, THE FOUNDER OF "GUNS DOWN FRIDAY", SAYING: "When these kids lose someone, it's devastating. And I feel like it's an emergency, you know, but the state doesn't treat it like that, and it just breaks my heart to sit at these funerals - and kids wondering if it's going to happen to them next." YOUNG BOY SMILING AT CAMERA, SAYING (English): "I didn't get hit!" / PAN TO WATER BALLOON FIGHT (SOUNDBITE) (English) (SOUNDBITE) (English) JAWANNA HARDY, FOUNDER OF "GUNS DOWN FRIDAY", SPEAKING THROUGH MEGAPHONE AND SAYING: "I've got a couple more water balloons over here. Put the guns down and pick the water balloons up!"
  • Embargoed: 27th August 2021 15:33
  • Keywords: D.C. crime Guns Down Friday Jawanna Hardy Washington child victims gun violence shootings
  • Location: WASHINGTON, D.C. / HILLCREST HEIGHTS, MARYLAND, UNITED STATES
  • City: WASHINGTON, D.C. / HILLCREST HEIGHTS, MARYLAND, UNITED STATES
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Human-Led Feature,Human-Led Stories,United States
  • Reuters ID: LVA001EQ4Z9S7
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Davon McNeal was just 11-years-old when he was struck in the head by a stray bullet at a Fourth of July cookout in Washington, DC, last year.
    Now, every Friday, community activist Jawanna Hardy visits his gravesite and the graves of other children who have lost their lives to gun violence.
    "I sometimes feel so hopeless," Hardy said, as she placed flowers and balloons and trimmed the grass around the headstones.
    Like many cities across the U.S., Washington has seen a spike in shooting-related deaths during the pandemic. Homicides were up 19 percent in 2020 compared to 2019, according to the Washington Metropolitan Police Department. This month's data shows that the city has already clocked more cases than at the same time last year.
    Among them is the shooting death of a six-year-old girl, who was hit in a drive-by while riding her scooter on the sidewalk, according to police.
    "It's like a war zone. It's like being in the military," Hardy said.
    Frustrated by the senseless loss of life, Hardy, an Air Force veteran and now a 34-year-old high school English teacher, launched "Guns Down Friday," an outreach program to support neighborhoods plagued by gun violence - including the one she has lived in since childhood.
    After visiting the cemetery, she drives her van - adorned with photos of young gun violence victims - through the streets to greet the youth.
    "These are friends of these kids - so we just do all we can to show love," Hardy said.
    On a recent Friday, she arrived with water balloons.
    "Put your guns down and pick your water balloons up!" Hardy cried through a megaphone as children outside an apartment complex in Southeast Washington laughed and scrambled to drench one another.
    She knows her Friday night street parties will not stop gun violence but hopes they can at least provide children a brief respite from the constant fear in which many live.
    Hearing gunshots is all too normal.
    "Down the street, just like two hours ago, [there were] three shots - had to get to booking it," said 13-year-old Armani Chambers.
    Rashad Bates, age 12, said he knows exactly what to do if he hears shots being fired.
    "Just ignore it. Don't look out the window, because you never know if the bullet is coming toward your window," he said.
    Nationwide, more than 5,100 children and teens were killed or injured by gun violence in 2020 - the highest number since the nonprofit Gun Violence Archive started collecting data seven years ago.
    In addition to the Friday activities, Hardy said she has taken on other initiatives: raising money for shooting victims' gravestones, advocating for more streetlights, and training people how to treat bullet wounds themselves.
    "It takes the ambulance 15-20 minutes to respond," explained Kate Ross, who works with Hardy. "So, a lot of kids are driving themselves to the hospital and not making it because of blood loss."
    "It's an emergency, but the state doesn't treat it like that," Hardy added. "It just breaks my heart to sit at these funerals - and kids wondering if it's going to happen to them next."
    (Production: Kevin Fogarty, Vanessa Johnston)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2021. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register