Family of shooting victim hosts “Stop the Gun Violence” to raise awareness of gun violence

CINCINNATI (WXIX) — The family of two shooting victims hosted a “Stop Gun Violence” event in Roselawn on Saturday to raise awareness about gun violence and help stop it in communities.

Charles Wiley, father of 37-year-old Devon Trotter and uncle of Monroe Turner (Wiley) and Reverend Peterson Mingo, spoke about how he hopes the event will spark discussion about how people can stop gun violence in their communities.

“There are so many times that I have to tell the parents that their child is not coming home,” Reverend Mingo said. “Can you imagine how devastating this is?”

The event, hosted by Wiley, was held at the mall at 7617 Reading Road.

Wiley spoke about his personal experiences with gun violence. His son, Trotter, was shot to death on Craft Street at Winneste Avenue on Sept. 21, Cincinnati police said. He was buried on Thursday.

In addition to Trotter, Wiley lost another family member to gun violence.

He says he lost his nephew Monroe Turner (Wiley) in 2018 after he was shot on Poplar Street at the Stanley Rowe Apartments in January of that year.

“He ended up getting shot about five times in the back,” Wiley said.

Police still have not arrested anyone in connection with the two fatal shootings.

Charles says he has been fighting to end gun violence in the city for decades. As the root cause of violence

Reverend Mingo contends that many young people are emotionally insecure when it comes to the root cause of gun violence.

“Many young men and women who carry guns have extremely low self-esteem. And they take every offense seriously. They take it as a challenge.”

The priest says the young people need to be told that they are loved and have a purpose. He also says they need mentors in the community.

“When someone in our family or in our community is killed, that’s what we do – we grieve for a minute,” Wiley said. “We can’t go back to business as usual because our community is dying.”

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