Myles Harris, WCNC Charlotte
It’s been four years since the mass shooting rocked the Charlotte community.
The shooting on Beatties Ford Road in 2020 took the lives of four people while injuring several others. While many loved ones remember the lives that were lost from a shooting, anti-violence advocates are making efforts in the community to prevent similar incidents from happening again.
Donnell Gardner is the Youth Advocate Programs and City of Charlotte Alternatives to Violence Site Supervisor for West Boulevard and Remount Road.
“[It’s] just an unfortunate situation,” Gardner told WCNC Charlotte’s Myles Harris when asked about the shooting from 2020. “Us being here, which is why we’re trying to prevent things like that from happening.”
Four lives were lost from that shooting and now Donnell Gardner and Roosevelt Brooks are focused on making a difference.
“To come in and detect those situations, intervene on those situations … and then try to change the norms of the community … for those who think that gun violence is the norm,” Brooks said.
Both have called Charlotte home for years. Part of their call to action is taking a boots-on-the-ground approach to making a safer community.
“Empower the people in the communities, and let them know that they have a lot of things that they can do for themselves, but also that they have all the support from ATV for whatever needs they have,” Brooks said.
No suspects have been named in this incident. If you have any information, you’re asked to contact Charlotte Mecklenburg Police.
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