School hosts violence workshop days after student was killed in KC
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Within the last week, three kids have been killed or injured in the Kansas City metro by gun violence.
Members of the community have been left asking how can we prevent this from happening in the future and why does this keep happening?
No specific answers have been provided. But, in the midst of all these tragedies, the Kansas City metro has taken matters into its own hands.
Deadly crash between train, vehicle investigated in south Kansas City
Several violence prevention and advocacy groups have formed in Kansas City over the years. This includes the Ewing Marion Kauffman School’s Community Violence Workshop.
This event, hosted on Saturday, took place just days after an EMKS student fell victim to one of the shootings of last week.
11-year-old Kourtney Freeman was killed inside her Kansas City, Missouri home on Wednesday, April 10. Her 12th birthday was only a short month away, and she was in her fifth year at EMKS.
Freeman’s death is taking it’s toll on her fellow students. “That’s the Kourtney that I knew,” Alex Haynes, a sixth-grader at the Ewing Marion Kauffman School said. “Just passionate and kind, always respectful. It’s just hard to see her gone.”
The school’s Community Violence Workshop took place from 8:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. and included presentations from community leaders and a student panel, provided networking and fellowship opportunities, and served food through the EMKS food pantry.
“Kourtney is one of those young ladies that justice, social justice, those kinds of things were very important to her,” Teresa Fliger, the founder of Kauffman Cares said. “For kids, they need to have a sense of purpose and a sense of contribution. They don’t have to wait for adults to do that, there are things that they can be doing.”
Fliger told us that the students in the group are still wrestling with Kourtney’s death.
“A lot of the kids are coming in going, I’m afraid, I’m afraid I’m going to be the next person that’s going to be hurt.” One of her Kauffman Cares peers, 5th grader Rikai Mason, remembered her leadership.
KC-area natives Finnegan, Jeffrey help LSU gymnastics win first NCAA title
“She played the number one role in everything that we did,” Mason said. “And she tried her best to stop the violence. So the way she died, why did that have to happen to her?”
Haynes was close with Freeman, he said that she’ll be dearly missed. “It’s like a hole in your heart and it’s not going to get filled back,” he said. “You got to remember the good times. How she would fight for people. There’s not another Kourtney. There’s not a lot of people just like her
Open to all members of the community, the workshop included information about the causes and impacts of violence on all people, especially children.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), homicide, which often involves weapons such as knives and firearms, is among the top four causes of death in adolescents, with boys comprising over 80% of victims and perpetrators.
2023 set a record high in Kansas City for homicides, reaching a total of 182 by the end of the year. Within that statistic, 10% of the victims were between the ages of zero and 17.
Dozens of lakefront Ray County property owners facing likely eviction
On Tuesday night, 5-year-old Mari Scott died in what police call an “accidental shooting,” and on Wednesday, a 6-year-old boy was shot off his bicycle and is now in critical condition at a local hospital.
These shootings have large effects on not just the families and friends of the victims, but also the communities around them.
The negative effects of violence are incredibly vast. For children, it can result in death, lead to severe injuries, impair brain and nervous system development, result in negative coping and health risk behaviors, lead to unintended pregnancies, contribute to a wide range of non-communicable diseases and impact opportunities and future generations, according to WHO.
Suspect in custody, second suspect sought following threat at KCK middle school
There are several resources and programs available throughout the metro to get involved and aid in the effort to prevent violence in communities and against children. Some of these include kcmo.gov, jacksoncountycombat.com, kccommongood.org and more.
