BUFFALO, N.Y. — Zeneta Everhart's first thought when she heard about a fatal shooting on Saturday, May 4 was a simple question.
"Why does this keep happening? That was my initial reaction. Why? Why are we why are we here again? Why are we here again?" the Masten District representative for Buffalo Common Council said Sunday during a Zoom conference call, following a shooting that left one teen dead and injured five others.
One teenager died and five others were injured following a shooting that happened around 11:10 p.m. Saturday, according to Buffalo Police. A 14-year-old girl was declared dead after being taken to Oishei Children's Hospital.
All six people shot were between 14 and 16 years old. Four boys were taken to Erie County Medical Center to be treated. A 15-year-old boy was listed in critical condition, and three others were listed as stable.
The other victim, a 16-year-old boy, was "grazed" and declined medical treatment at the scene, police said.
Everhart's son, Zaire Goodman, is a survivor of the Tops mass shooting on May 14, 2022.
"It hits so close to home, and it's so personal," she said. "I wish that I could take this back from them. I don't want anyone to feel that feeling. I don't know what it's like to lose a kid. I know what it's like to almost lose a kid, and I'm heartbroken. I'm heartbroken as a mother. I'm heartbroken as a community member. I'm heartbroken as a government official.
"I'm disgusted, quite frankly, with our country in the way that we just we just so easily take lives."
The shooter remains at large, police said. Officials are asking people to submit videos from the scene, from social media and from surveillance cameras.
Everhart used the words "angry" and "exhausted" many times during her 16-minute conference call when talking about the shooting Saturday night, and about gun violence in general.
"I'm just going to be honest. I don't have the words, but I'm angry for these families. I am," she said. "I am angry. These are babies. These are children that are going to be traumatized for the rest of their lives around this, right? And one family doesn't get to have their kid today, and as a community, we should all be disgusted. We should all be angry. It really hurts."
Everhart, four hours earlier, had issued a statement about the Saturday night shooting:
"As the Masten District Council Woman, and a mother who has been directly impacted from gun violence, my heart is heavy over the tragic events that unfolded in our Masten community late Saturday night, resulting in the loss of a young girl's life and injuries to six teenagers due to gunfire.
"As we approach the two-year mark of the racially motivated massacre that shook Buffalo and my community to its core, the wounds inflicted by that day are still fresh and it is disheartening that despite our efforts, we are still grappling with the devastating impact of gun violence.
"There are no words sufficient to convey the pain and sorrow I feel for the family, friends, and all those affected by the unimaginable loss of the 14-year-old girl who tragically lost her life on Jefferson Avenue, as well as the five other victims who were also shot.
"I have been in contact with the Buffalo Police Department and Mayor Brown's administration and I urge anyone with information to come forward and assist law enforcement in their investigation. We must continue to stand united against gun violence, not just within Buffalo, but across our nation as well.”