CLEVELAND — Two boys, ages 15 and 16, are in the hospital after police found both shot in Cleveland.
The shootings happened just before midnight at East 116th Street and Miles Avenue.
Less than 24 hours later, a street minister took this crime scene as an opportunity to leave a message.
While trying to get information about a double shooting, News 5 Investigators met Tracy Bush.
He said he was at a young age when tackling gun violence became his calling.
“I’m just a messenger.”
Tracy drove out to East 116th Street and Miles Avenue to find a good spot to post his message.
“If there’s any retaliation that’s going to take place because of this shooting, maybe someone will look at it and say, 'look here, you know what? let me see if I can discover a better way,'” Bush said.
Just hours earlier, at the same location, police came upon two boys. Both were in need of first aid for gunshot wounds.
Police got the call about shots fired at 11:30 p.m. on Sunday.
“We’re grateful we’re on the up floor and not down here,” Carmaletta Bolden said.
Police say the boys were walking in the area when they saw other people running.
A car pulled up to the boys and started shooting.
Bolden lives nearby and heard the gunshots.
“I came out on the porch and they had this whole area blocked off,” Bolden said.
Tracy says he was a boy when he first witnessed shootings and deaths from gun violence in Cleveland.
“It penetrated my soul and it hurt my heart so much because one of them was a friend of mine that I wanted to do something about it,” he said.
The number on his sign goes to a recording offering free guidance to keep the peace.
“That’s fine but what about being proactive and instead of reactive why are we not coming up with opportunities for these kids to do something other than to hang out in the street,” Bolden said.
Tracy spends his retirement writing books about gun violence for children and parents. He says he tries to motivate children to think about their futures.
“There is an opportunity for parents to increase their involvement,” Bush said.
He left his sign at other Cleveland street corners known as trouble spots, like this one at East 93rd Street and Kinsman Road.
“There’s been over 3,000 individuals who have called in to receive help and God knows how many of them have been blessed and I’m thankful if it’s just one,” Bush said.
Cleveland police say the case of the two boys who were shot remains under investigation.
