Young adults in Philly advocate for gun ownership education, even after experiencing tragedy

By Maya Eaglin, NBC

Gun violence in Philadelphia has become a national news story, but 22-year-old resident Isaiah Stanton knows about the gun crisis there firsthand.

Last year, he opened up the Citizen app, which provides location-based safety alerts, only to find out that his brother Ronald Wimberley, a jokester with a big personality and a bigger laugh, had been fatally shot.

Wimberely was 26 when he was killed in Philadelphia. His case remains unsolved and no arrests have been made. He had a daughter named Naomi, loved dirt bikes and enjoyed gardening.

“After his passing, it really inspired me just to go like 10 times harder,” Stanton said. “My brother, he’s watching me. He’s proud, you know, that I’m doing so good.”As of Oct. 1, there were 841 shootings in Philadelphia this year alone, and 86% of fatal gun-related incidents involved men. More than half of the victims were under 30, and 80% of them were Black, according to the city controller.

But there’s a growing group of young people who say they believe harm reduction through proper firearm training can help reduce the amount of gun violence in the city.

NBC has more details.

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