RAINIER BEACH — The Boys and Girls Club of King County is speaking out after a shooting broke out during one of their community safety meetings at the Rainier Beach Safeway parking lot. On Thursday, the group pledged to resume their work in the parking lot to prevent gun violence.
The shooting happened on July 28 and hurt five people, including two staff members from the SE Network SafetyNet group, which is part of the Boys and Girls Club.
“We care enough to stay coming out here because we know consistency brings results. Consistency brings results,” said the director of the SE Network Safety Program Marty Jackson, “If we don’t continue to show love, then our community and our young people will be hopeless.”
Jackson said the goal has been meeting since July 2020, after two young black men were shot and killed in the parking lot in May. Their goal in part is to change the feel and culture of the parking lot, bring an environment of healing, and deter acts of violence.
It took a couple of weeks for the group to publicly address the shooting because they were focused on helping and supporting their staff members. One of their staff members and shooting victims was standing with the group during the press conference Thursday.
“We do this work every day, but when one of our soldiers are injured -- that takes precedence,” she said. “Even though the leader of this team was shot, he was running around trying to see who he could help. He was still trying to tend to the community, to the victims who were shot!” Jackson said.
There is no specific date yet for when the group gatherings will resume at on Friday night, other than “sooner rather than later.”
“A lot of them may even feel powerless to stop the gun violence that’s happening. But if we don’t continue to do this work ‚if we don’t care for each other then what are we really doing out here,” Jackson said, “This is our space of refuge, this is our space to heal, and it will continue to be.” .
The SafetyNet group also said they believe their meetings have helped prevent other acts of violence in the three years they’ve been gathering there, pointing out the July 28 shooting marked the first shooting there since their community events began.
Jackson also addressed the shooter, who has not been arrested.
“I am today speaking to whoever is responsible for this act of violence. I wish for whatever it is you’re hurting for – that we could’ve intervened, loved on you, given you something,” Jackson said.
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