Legislators speak out about gun violence in Trenton
TRENTON » State lawmakers who represent Trenton are decrying the capital city’s persistent gun violence in the aftermath of Vernetta McCray’s violent death.
“We are deeply saddened by the loss of another innocent life and distressed that gun violence continues to plague our capital city,” State Sen. Shirley Turner, Assemblywoman Verlina Reynolds-Jackson and Assemblyman Anthony Verrelli said Thursday in a joint statement. “Our residents should not live in fear that they will be shot while sitting on their porch and no one should ever have to suffer the loss of a loved one to gun violence.”
McCray, 39, a state worker from the Department of Children and Families, was situated on the front porch of her Hampton Avenue home and talking to a client on the phone when a gunman, still unidentified, opened fire as many as 23 times around 9 p.m. Friday, Aug. 21, sources said.
The victim was rushed to the hospital in extremely critical condition and later pronounced dead over the weekend, according to the
Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office.
Gov. Phil Murphy paid tribute to the murdered state worker during Monday’s coronavirus briefing, sending condolences to her family and colleagues at DCF, where the Trenton woman worked for over a decade helping kids through difficulties they inherited through no fault of their own.
Before McCray died, Murphy issued a statement Saturday evening offering his prayers and saying, “This tragedy is yet another reminder of the toll that senseless gun violence takes on our communities.”
Mayor Reed Gusciora also issued a timely statement Saturday calling the incident “another senseless act of violence resulting in an innocent person being gravely shot in the east section of Trenton.”
Turner, Reynolds-Jackson and Verrelli issued their joint statement on Thursday after meeting with law enforcement officials this week to “discuss and develop gun violence and public safety solutions for the City of Trenton,” according to a press release issued Thursday.
“Keeping our community safe is a collaborative effort and we are grateful that our law enforcement officials are working together to stop the surge of violence in our neighborhoods, improve public safety, and address the needs of our youth and residents,” the legislative trio said. “However, the Trenton Police Department has been operating below staffing levels and with antiquated technological equipment for far too long, and our capital city requires state of the art technology and more boots on the ground to ensure that we have adequate police presence to protect residents and deter crime.”
Turner, Reynolds-Jackson and Verrelli have been directly elected by the voters of Trenton and surrounding communities to advocate their best interests in the Statehouse. The Democratic trio represents New Jersey’s 15th Legislative District, which includes the 7.5-square-mile capital city.
Following the murder of McCray, the capital city recorded its 27th homicide of 2020 on Tuesday when authorities found 32-year-old Shamira Williams stabbed to death in the West Ward.
With four months remaining, 2020 is already languishing as one of Trenton’s worst years of bloodshed.
Trenton had 37 homicides in 2013, 32 homicides in 2014 and 31 homicides in 2005, the worst years on record, according to FBI expanded homicide data for Trenton Police Department from 1985 through 2018.
All three LD15 lawmakers are particularly concerned, they said, with how the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic may compound Trenton’s gun violence problem.
“Now that our schools will be operating remotely and many children will have less structure in their day,” they said Thursday, “we are concerned about how this will contribute to gang involvement and criminal behavior for children who are already at risk. We believe that communitybased programs need to be created with the assistance of state and local agencies and partners.”
In the coming weeks, the LD15 legislators will meet with the Murphy administration and Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver “to request assistance and intervention that will address the needs of our community,” Turner, Reynolds-Jackson and Verrelli said in their joint statement.