‘This is our issue’: Baltimore teens ask to be heard in discussions about gun violence”

One heard gunshots for the first time by fifth grade.

Another walked away, unfazed, from a shooting scene in seventh grade.

And yet another lost their family friend, whom they considered a cousin, to gun violence in 10th grade.

Some Baltimore high schoolers are feeling hopeless. They are avoiding leaving their houses, worried they will get shot. They are dealing with post-traumatic stress and mental illness after losing loved ones to violence. They are being shot in record numbers, even as nonfatal shootings and homicides are down — with many of these shootings involving teens happening near their schools. Since January, 15 teens have died from gun violence. Continue reading…