@Rapier232 said in Turning Guns into Trumpets:
What happens when a kid turns up with a gun, just takes all the trumpets and keeps the gun?
Or worse....I understand your concern. I also can see that Shamarr Allen is deeply invested in trying to improve his community. After all, he has young children, and the stabbing and shooting children and adults in New Orleans on a daily basis has been commonplace for many decades. I lived in New Orleans from 1974-1979. During those years I was responsible, along with many others, for providing Surgical care to the victims who were funneled into New Orlean’s Major Trauma Center, Charity Hospital of New Orleans, whether they were New Orleans Police Officers, the equivalent of gangbangers, innocent victims of crime, or innocent bystanders who were collateral damage. During my five years, I, alone probably saw anywhere from 2-10 stab and gunshot wound victims per day who made it to the hospital alive. I worked seven days a week and was allowed seven vacation days per year. My exposure to this problem was enormous.
My understanding is that gun violence has not improved in New Orleans even up to the current time. There is very little value put on human life by perpetrators and criminals within the high crime districts of New Orleans. Just consider The fate of 9 year old Devonte Bryant who was purposely shot at close range in the back of his head. Most of the gun violence was, and still is, aimed at the members of the community. Tourists were considered fair game as well. If you live in one of these areas, as Shamarr Allen does, your options include, live with the situation the best you can, move elsewhere if you are able to, or do what you can to fix it from within. In his own way, Shamarr Allen, within his sphere of influence is trying to fix what he can from within. What he is doing is very admirable. By getting even a few illegal guns out of the hands of minors, redirecting their interests, and expanding their talents , he could very well be preventing the juveniles he is interacting with from living a life of crime, preventing serious injuries, and saving lives. I hope that his endeavors are successful and he does not get hurt trying to help others. Who would have ever thought that a trumpet could save lives!
By the way, to give you an idea of the severity of the circumstance that I am referring to, read the following account of the shooting death of 9 year Devante Bryant, that led to Shamarr Allen’s epiphany. Keep in mind that two other children were shot in the same non random incident and other children were shot at. Also in the story, the circumstances surrounding Devante Bryant’s family are very informative relative to my points above.
https://www.nola.com/news/crime_police/article_5f48b042-cce8-11ea-97c6-97ed082eda8c.html
