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Angry Parents Sound Off On Harlem Shootings

Rev. Williams: 'No More Jive Talk. It's Time To Get Real'

8 Wounded, Including 6 Teens; NYPD Search Continues

HARLEM (CBS) ― A call to stop the violence echoed through Harlem on Tuesday. It's been heard many times before, but the hope this time is that it will be heeded.

The call for action came after six teenagers were shot Monday night in Marcus Garvey Park.

At about the same time, and just blocks away, two other men were shot in separate incidents.

Many of the wounded teens ran to the area around 125th and Lenox where they were eventually found. So far, detectives have no motive for the shootings.

And as CBS 2 HD saw firsthand, neighbors and community leaders have had enough.

In the wake of Monday night's shootings, mothers of gun violence victims gathered to express their anger.

"I'm devastated that people are so angry, that people can bump up against them and you're gonna shoot someone? That's hurting to me," Eugenia Stinson said.

Stinson's 26 year-old son, Marquis, was wounded by gunfire Monday night on 131st Street. Jean Holster Hill's 27-year-old son, Amen Kyle Hill, was shot and killed in upper Manhattan three years ago.

"It's an abomination. It's lynching with a gun," Holster Hill said.

When the gunfire erupted on Lenox Avenue, former NBA player Luther Rackley heard the shots and saw several of the victims. The problem, he says, is a combination of gang violence and the availability of guns.

"You know, they all got 'em, so they want to show 'em off and use them, and I think afterwards some of them are legitimately sorry," Rackley said.

The only ones sorry Tuesday were the mothers who have lost children to gun violence. Jackie Rowe-Adams has lost two sons to bullets.

"Who's giving our 13- and 9-year-olds guns? Parents, parents, I call on you parents to take charge of your kids," Rowe-Adams said.

The Rev. Vernon Williams of Perfect Peace Ministries ratcheted up the call to disarm.

"We've got to stop it and stop it now," Williams said. "No more Band-Aids. No more jive-talk. We've got to get real."

Among those gathered Tuesday, there was enormous frustration that guns continue to fall into the hands of young people, with no end in sight.

The six teenagers shot Monday are all expected to survive. One of the other shooting victims is in critical condition.

(© MMVIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)


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