Rising tide of juvenile gun violence puts Allegheny County teens in crosshairs

Ahmad Ibrahim, center, a violence interrupter with Cure Violence East, hands a pamphlet with information on support for communities afflicted by gun violence, to Wilkinsburg resident Derreck Smith. Ibrahim, who coaches football at Westinghouse Academy, said he’s witnessed violence in the area since the 1990s, and says now he sees “my friends kids and grandkids getting killed. I had to try to do something to help these communities.”

Sierra Russell, an outreach worker with Cure Violence East, a team of local residents who work as violence interrupters, hugs Wilkinsburg resident and family friend Jonathan Burrell, during a shooting response outreach at the corner of Penn Avenue and Hay Street, on Thursday, April 4, 2024 in Wilkinsburg.

Staff with the group Cure Violence East gather on the corner of Penn Avenue and Hay Street for community outreach on Thursday, April 4, 2024 in Wilkinsburg.