RICHMOND, Va. -- Overcome by emotion, a Richmond woman sent a passionate plea to her community as she grapples with losing a second family member to gun violence in the city within the same year.
Police said 37-year-old Quinton Robertson died after he was shot on Q Street in Mosby Court early Sunday morning. Robertson leaves behind devastated children, siblings, and other family members including his cousin Laverne McMullen.
“I’m saddened and I’m angry. I’m saddened because it’s another life gone to the streets," McMullen said. "Knowing that there's not going to be a phone call. We're not going to get a hug. We're not going to get 'Mommy' or 'Daddy'. The love that we normally get from our kids, we're not going to hear that anymore from the souls that've been lost to the streets."
McMullen said she had nothing but "great love" for her cousin and said he was cherished by friends and family.
“He loved his kids. He loved his family. He was a jokester," McMullen said. “He liked to come around, show you love, embrace you, hug you. He was a good guy, and I’m going to truly miss him."
McMullen is no stranger to the tragic toll that gun violence takes on the loved ones of victims. Just six months prior to Robertson's death, her son Kenny Cooper was found shot and killed in an alleyway on the city's Northside in April. Cooper's case remains unsolved.
“You can’t escape it. You can't escape the murdering," McMullen said. “The pain to lose another family member in such a short time, it was devastating, because it's like I'm recycling the death of my son over again.”
McMullen said she believes many young people don't have the proper support to channel their feelings or solve conflicts.
She said the city's youth need a significant increase in neighborhood resources, mentorship, education, and job opportunities -- which are all part of the mission of her non-profit that she hopes to launch soon in honor of her son.
"They don't know how to survive. Their way of culture in life is, 'Okay, somebody don't like me, I'm gonna shoot them. Somebody's looking at me wrong, I'm gonna shoot them. Somebody don't feel the way I feel about a certain person, I'm gonna shoot them," she said.
Robertson's death came as the homicide rate in the city declines.
According to crime statistics from Richmond Police, the city has seen 45 murders so far this year. That's compared to 63 this time in 2021 -- a 29% decrease. However, nonfatal shootings are trending upward by 12%.
In an effort to combat violence, the city received nearly $2 million in funding from the federal government. Richmond was one of six local governments to be selected for a grant by the U.S. Department of Justice.
City officials said the money will go toward ongoing violence prevention efforts with a focus on youth and gang violence. The grant will also fund a three-year study, led by VCU, into the effectiveness of the city's initiatives.
But as lives are still being taken, McMullen took a knee to send a passionate plea to the community.
“I’m begging y’all to stop killing one another. There are so many things that y'all could be doing with your time besides killing each other. I'm begging and pleading for the Commonwealth to change the law get these guns out of these kids’ hands," she said.
Police have not released suspect information in Robertson's homicide. The case remains under investigation.
