Residents of all ages turned out for the 11^th Annual Bronx Rises Against Gun Violence (B.R.A.G.) North Peace Barbeque and street fair on Saturday, June 20, in the Wakefield section of The Bronx in observance of Gun Violence Awareness Month in June.

 

As previously reported, B.R.A.G., a program run by nonprofit, Good Shepherd Services, uses the Cure Violence (CV) evidence-based, anti-violence model that originated in Chicago, Illinois. The goal is to identify violently injured youth at risk for retaliatory violence, work with victims and their families and friends to help prevent future violence, and provide links to resources and follow-up services. B.R.A.G. also mobilizes residents and organizations through shooting responses and community events e.g. rallies, marches to raise awareness and promote non-violent norms.

The daylong event, held on East 225th Street between Barnes Avenue and Bronxwood Avenue, featured events, games and contests, as well as free food and beverages, while cure violence and gun violence prevention groups manned tables and discussed gun violence prevention with the community. Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson and Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark were also in attendance.

 

Randi Rampersaud, a Wakefield resident for the last 13 years, was observed enjoying the event as much as his family, while a sketch artist drew / painted his portrait. Rampersaud, who has attended the annual event three or four times, told Norwood News after his portrait was completed, “I came with some family, and we played some games. We got our faces painted and we did some drawings.”

Fellow Wakefield resident Edwin Gonzales attended the event with his daughters, Ziana, age 12, and Xahara, who was turning 14 the following day. Asked how he heard about the event, Gonzales said, “Someone passed by and said there was a free barbeque and to bring the kids from the community.” He continued, “The kids ate a hot dog and a hamburger, and I had some potato chips.”

 

Gonzales watched as his daughters had their faces painted and played some games. Unfamiliar with B.R.A.G.’s work prior to the event, Gonzales said nonetheless, “No one should be violent.” The dad was supportive of the group and added he would likely return with his family next year.

As he watched over the event, David Caba, senior vice president of B.R.A.G., told Norwood News, “This is our annual peace barbeque, and have been doing this since 2015.” He continued, “It’s also a celebration of Gun Violence Awareness Month. We want to honor those individuals who are survivors, individuals who have suffered gun violence, as well as all of the individuals that are out there in the five boroughs of New York that are doing anti-violence work.”

 

Caba continued, “There are families here who have lost loved ones. There are violence interrupters here, outreach workers, hospital responders, and other organizations. This is a partnership with the community and the ecosystem to celebrate peace in this neighborhood. In this neighborhood, we go long stretches without any kind of gun violence or homicides because of the work that B.R.A.G. puts in in this particular community.”

Caba was asked why the event was held on the particular block it was held on. He said it was the center of a “catchment area,” a zone within the 47th Precinct that B.R.A.G. had initially identified as an area prone to gun violence. “But since we’ve been active in stopping gun violence late at night in these types of areas, on this block and other blocks, we are experiencing historic lows in gun violence because we have implemented our model here,” he said.

 

Of the barbeque itself, Caba added, “This is just to show our appreciation for the community and saying ‘no’ to violence.”

During the month of June, the NYPD recorded at least six killings in the borough. On Wednesday, June 3, Reginald Copeland, 64, was stabbed to death inside his Longfellow Avenue building in the Longwood section of the South Bronx. The NYPD released photos of the male, as yet unidentified, assailant.

 

On Thursday, June 4, at 2:35 a.m.,  Amaury Toro, 43, of East 201st Street in Bedford Park was shot and killed outside 2151 Grand Concourse in Fordham Heights. Police said there have been no arrests and they continue to investigate Toro’s death.

 

Meanwhile, 23-year-old Jayden Purvis of Forest Houses in the South Bronx was shot and killed on Sunday, June 7, at around 11.54 p.m. in front of 366 East 207th Street and Decatur Avenue in Norwood.

 

Police released photos of the two suspects wanted in connection with his slaying. On June 29, the NYPD announced the arrest of Diora Teal, 22, of Decatur Avenue, who was charged with murder, manslaughter and criminal possession of a weapon. Teal is presumed innocent unless and until convicted in a court of law. A second person is also still sought in connection with the murder.

On June 8, Jonathan Pettigrew, 41, of Rosedale Avenue was shot and killed as he traveled on a Bx36 bus on East Tremont Avenue and White Plains Road in the Van Nest section of The Bronx. Police continue to hunt for his killer.

 

On Thursday, June 18, at 10:10 p.m., Egbert Rutherford, 53, of East 172nd Street and Curtis Brown, 43, of Westchester Avenue were shot and killed as they sat in front of 1643 Westchester Avenue in the Soundview section of The Bronx. On June 26, police released photos of three individuals wanted in connection with the double murder. However, the suspects remain at large.

 

The NYPD also reported that Bronxite Thomas Little, 34, of Broadway was shot multiple times in the head outside 17 Somers Street in Brooklyn on Saturday, June 6. Police said there were no arrests to date in Little’s murder, but they continue to investigate.

 

On June 22, 21-year-old Axl Ortiz of Belmont was shot dead at close range on East 187th Street in the Belmont section of The Bronx. This list does not include the many non-fatal shootings which have also taken place during the month of June.

 

On July 2, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch announced that New York City experienced the fewest shootings and homicides in recorded history in the first six months of 2026. According to Tisch, during the first half of 2026, there were 122 homicides citywide, compared with 162 during the same timeframe the previous year. Meanwhile, there were 322 citywide shooting incidents for the first half of 2026, down from 337 during the first six months of 2025.

 

Tisch said of the NYPD, “They are going after the guns, taking down violent gangs, building the cases, making the arrests, and working foot posts that help keep neighborhoods safe. The result is the fewest shooting incidents, shooting victims, and murders for the first half of any year in recorded history.”

Speaking at the same press conference at 1 Police Plaza, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani added, “The data reflects what New Yorkers are feeling on the subways, on our streets, and across the five boroughs: our whole-of-government approach to public safety is working.”

 

Despite this, and as reported previously, the Northwest Bronx, including the 52nd, 50th and 46th Precincts, continued to see a rise in many major crime categories in June, including murder, non-fatal shootings, stabbings and rape, as it did in May.  As reported, the implementation of the division of The Bronx into two patrol boroughs, north and south, was recently completed.

 

Under the new Patrol Borough Bronx North (PBXN) structure and new Patrol Borough Bronx South (PBXN) structure, each one will each have the same number of employees. The Patrol section of each borough command will have a total of 111 employees, as reported, comprising 99 uniformed personnel and 12 civilian employees.

 

Meanwhile, in the detective section, in each new borough command, there will be a total of 164 employees, comprising 154 uniformed personnel and 10 civilian employees. This means a total employee count in each new borough command of 275 employees, comprising 253 uniformed personnel and 22 civilian employees.

After citywide crime statistics for May were released in early June, as reported, Tisch had also highlighted that overall citywide major crime was down, and that the new Patrol Borough Bronx South command similarly saw a decrease in year-to-date index crimes in May. However, conversely, much of the Northwest Bronx, including the 52nd, 50th and 46th Precincts saw a rise in year-to-date crime in several major categories in May.

 

As reported, Norwood News asked the commissioner during a press conference held Monday, June 15, if she had any comments in that regard. “The crime declines that we have seen generally, in the borough of the Bronx, particularly in the South Bronx, have really been historic across the borough so far this year,” Tisch said in part at the time. “Of course, there are always going to be problem areas, problem precincts, and that’s why we use the CompStat process (NYPD crime data collection tool), and we do deployments of officers to places where we’re seeing crime go up.

B.R.A.G. hosted another summer barbeque along East 193rd Street between Jerome Avenue and Creston Avenue, outside St. James Park in the Fordham Manor section of The Bronx on Saturday, July 11.

 

Read more about B.R.A.G. here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.

 

Read more on Gun Violence Awareness Month here and here.

 

*Síle Moloney contributed to this story.