Black leaders forming coalition to promote love, peace at shooting scenes

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    PORTLAND, Oregon (KPTV) — The shootings in Portland are becoming more brazen, after a man died from a gunshot wound in Dawson Park Tuesday afternoon.

Portland Police identified the victim as 42-year-old Titus McNack.

Several leaders in the Black community are joining the conversation about the spike in violence, and where we go from here as a city.

“The fact that it happened in the middle of the day, broad daylight it was a cry out in my mind, it was like a cry for like something has to change,” Abundant Life Church PDX Pastor, Herman Greene said.

“Everybody talks about the homeless camps and all of the garbage and the shootings and the violence,” McLoughlin Heights Church and Portlander, Lisa Saunders said. “All of this is a mirror. It ain’t a movie that you’re watching. So at some point the mirror needs to ask the mirror a question. Is this enough?”

They’re encouraging everyone to do their part to stop this violence.

“I just feel like it’s our responsibility to get out here and to you know help curb some of the violence,” Former gang member and Love is Stronger Founder, Lionel Irving said.

“It starts in the household. If you’re a parent or you’re a stepparent or foster parent, or uncle, cousin, brother sister you got a role to play with that young life that you got to mold. When they walk out the door, they show responsibility send them out with good energy.”

“We need to figure out how to neutralize those situations and figure out how to get those people the help and then the trauma afterwards with the services, spiritual help and also like the nurturing part from the moms, the mothers,” Alex Clay said.

The group agrees that access to mental health resources plays a key role in this public safety crisis, that’s taken the lives of 20 people in Portland this year.

“You know people are starting to realize what mental health really is and what happens for all of the past traumas that a lot of us have been through and are still working through and never had got addressed before,” Mind Solutions spokesperson, Jermaine Mason said. “So it’s just real important for us to recognize what’s going on and for us to spot it and say hey you know what I know somewhere where you can go get some help at.”

As gun violence surges, Irving is leading a coalition of community leaders who will respond to shooting scenes in the name of love and peace.

The group will start that work this weekend.

Irving says the group is looking for more volunteers to help in this effort.

“We need to get a 20, 30 people group and we need to be able to mobilize man so we can get to the shots fired,” Irving said. “So we come in there with the aspect of, the energy of healing. Right because everybody looks out the window somebody’s blood on the ground everybody’s going to be hurt and sad. We come in there with good energy, with whatever resources we got to the surrounding neighborhoods not just the victims.”

The group says people should not let fear get in the way of standing up against this violence.

“We want you to stand with us. We want you to walk beside us, march beside us, so come out and march around these parks, march through these neighborhoods,” Greene said. “And don’t do it in fear. You weren’t afraid that the police might shoot you with the tear gas. But I feel like the part of the reasons like we don’t come out to these events is because we’re afraid that we might actually get shot by that gang member.”

Irving says in addition to this new coalition, he’s also promoting a safe spaces campaign this weekend where people can come eat and hang out at local food carts.

Irving says there will be several locations across Portland.

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