BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Buffalo Common Councilwoman Zeneta Everhart kicked off Gun Violence Awareness Month with a cookout at MLK Park. She and many others were wearing their orange, the color signifying gun violence awareness.
Less than 2 hours before the pre-planned community event aimed at raising awareness about gun violence prevention, a man was shot in the leg on Broadway on Buffalo's East Side.
WATCH: ‘Rough start to the warmer weather’: Councilwoman Everhart kicks off Gun Violence Awareness Month
"The summer hasn't really begun, and here we are looking at multiple shootings happening across the Buffalo area," Everhart said.
The shooting on Broadway is part of a concerning trend. Buffalo Police said the number of shooting incidents and shooting victims are up 9% and 11%, respectively, compared to this time last year.
BUFFALO POLICE DEPARTMENT ANNOUNCES crime statistics through the month of May. pic.twitter.com/ce89k1L8u3
— Buffalo Police Department (@BuffaloNYPolice) June 3, 2026
"So, we have been having a rough start to the warmer weather, to put it mildly," Adrienne Garr, the city's executive director of its Office of Gun Violence Prevention, said.
Garr and Everhart took a moment to explain what their office is doing to help both before and after violence occurs.
"Violence is here, and it is happening, and it is tragic. The work is being done behind the scenes, every single day. Not just to prevent it, but to make sure that we are helping people who are traumatized by it," Everhart said. "When a shooting happens in a neighborhood, many times the police, the ambulance, the firetrucks, everybody shows up. When they're gone, a community is left traumatized. No one is calling those people. No one is following up with them, making sure they're getting access to therapy and different things like that.”
Garr said raising awareness is a meaningful and accessible step, which is the exact reason they hosted Friday’s event. June is Gun Violence Awareness Month.
"This is probably one of the easiest things that can be done, bringing awareness to things like June is gun violence awareness month," Garr said. "There are people who care, and we are working to make the summer safe.”
"It's about bringing everybody together, so that we understand that we are all in this together in solving the problem," Everhart said.
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