Harlem community leaders unite to stop gun violence at basketball tournament
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NEW YORK (PIX11) -- Since Monday, at least seven people have been shot across the city, even as the NYPD reports shootings are down about 23% year to date.
Gun violence continues to leave communities broken.
In Harlem, community leaders are doing their part to help keep guns away from young people.
The 15th annual “God is Love, Stop the Gun Violence” Basketball Tournament offers a safe space, a sense of community, and team building for young people.
Chaplain Robert Rice organizes the tournament every year.
Chaplain Rice said, “We don't want to see another mother and father bury another child."
This week has been a violent one with multiple shootings across the five boroughs, including a 17-year-old shot and killed in the Bronx, a mother in Prospect Heights, and a 21-year-old man in Canarsie.
"We are out here with different coaches, different people to say no more silence end gun violence." Chaplain Rice said.
During the tournament, the players showed their skills on the court and they cheered each other on, many know first hand the impact of gun violence and choose to do the right thing.