Buffalo, NY - An appeal for information, justice, and community cooperation as Buffalo Police continue their investigation of what they term a "horiffic" crime. Someone murdered a grandmother and her 17-month-old grandson and left others injured in an overnight shooting on the front porch of their home in Buffalo's Fruit Belt neighborhood. Anti-violence groups have mobilized in response with their message to the community.
Murray Holman of the Buffalo Peacemakers said, "It's different, very different."
While Rev. James Giles who also leads the organization said, "Psychopaths don't care about the victims that they kill."
Those are perspectives of two men who have seen their share of violence and seek solutions to stop it. The Buffalo Peacemakers seek to reach out with counseling, even for those who could kill 50-year-old Yvette Johnson and her 17-month-old grandson as they waited for a relative to arrive.
Holman put it this way, "That they put down their guns and they talk it out, do some restorative justice planning, things like that there. Come see us and we can show them how to change their lives. We have people working with us who can help them. It's not the police job to do this. It's the community's job to make it work." He added, "It's not being called a snitch or anything like that, cause that's not in the vocabulary. It's basically coming forward with information, so we get this young person the help they need."
Rev. Giles had this message for those responsible, "How would you feel if somebody gunned down your child? C'mon now. At some point man, we gotta wake up and realize that we are devaluing human life. And I need them brothers to check themselves. To look at this, we don't have to go out like this. It's over issues, which is really disturbing, that can easily be resolved with a bit of understanding. We need people to stand up and say this is not going to be tolerated."
"Our entire homicide unit is gonna work this relentlessly until we bring somebody to justice," Buffalo Police Captain Jeff Rinaldo said. "There are people in the community that know little bits and pieces of this story and we need them to come forward."
We have reached out but did not not hear back from Buffalo Police as to whether there is any new information on the case this evening. You are encouraged to call Buffalo Police at their confidential tipline 847 - 2255.