Victory Over Violence: Little Rock teens reflect on violence in their community three years later

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Imagine hearing gunshots outside your home daily or being afraid to play outside with your friends out of fear of getting kidnapped. That was the reality for a group of Little Rock kids when FOX 16 News spoke with them three years ago.

At that time, they said they did not feel safe in their own neighborhoods, and they were calling on adults to do more.

"We need protection," Deshaun Austin said in 2021 when he was 10 years old.

He felt this way because he had recently lost his cousin to gun violence. His cousin was walking home from the Whetstone Boys & Girls Club when he was shot and killed.

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Kendall Jackson was 13 years old when she last spoke with FOX 16 News. At that time, she was afraid to be in her neighborhood.

"You could get shot. You could get taken," Kendall said in 2021.

Miracle Nowden-Lewis was also 13 years old in 2021 and was hoping conflict resolution would be the solution to the violence.

When FOX 16 News Anchor Ashlei King asked the group if they feel safe now in 2024, they all said they feel a little more safe.

"We have more cops out there and we don't have as many violence issues right now," Kendall said.

Her feelings are validated by the current statistics. Violent crime in Little Rock is down by 36% from this time last year, according to the Little Rock Police Department. However, that improvement does not mean the teens are not still seeing the violence that does happen so close to home.

"I had a cousin that got shot, but he didn't pass away," Kendall said. "I was upset."

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Kendall, Deshaun and Miracle spend a lot of their time at the Whetstone Boys and Girls Club in southwest Little Rock. It's their safe haven, but once they leave the comfort of the club's walls, things change.

"When I'm outside the Boys & Girls Club, I feel like I could get shot at any minute or anything could happen," Deshaun said.

He went on to explain that he does not hang out with his friends outside of the club because there are a lot of shootings.

"There could be a shootout at any time. It's a lot of stuff that can happen around my neighborhood because I feel like my neighborhood is dangerous," Kendall said.

Besides witnessing violence, their peers have also tried to get them to go down the wrong path.

"They've tried to get me to shoot a gun. He tried to get me to do drugs. He's tried to get me to do a lot," Kendall said.

"This one kid tried to get me to vape in the bathroom. I said no because I'm not doing that," Miracle said. "You ain't going to get me in trouble. I got a future."

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While that may be expected at the high school level, Deshaun said he has even experienced the same thing in just the eighth grade.

"A kid tried to get me to smoke, too," Deshaun said.

When asked what they would say to their classmates who try to get them to go down the wrong path, Kendall said "People these days, you can tell them something right and they're still going to keep doing the same thing over and over."

"Some kids don't care, but I do be telling them. I be like, 'Y'all need to stop cause that could actually kill you' cause I don't want to see nobody die or nothing," Miracle said.

"I would tell them that they have a future and your future could be great. You just have to stop doing what you're doing now," Deshaun said. "I just want them to know there will always be victory over violence."