It has been less than three weeks since Sabrina Stennette lost her son, Andre Stennette-Harrod, in a violent shooting. The grief and pain that she feels are still fresh.
Yet, a smile appears across her face as she thinks about the kind of legacy her son left.
“He was truly amazing and was just really one of those people who always thought about how to help someone else,” Stennette says, as her face brightens with pleasant memories.
Andre, 21, was shot and killed along with his 24-year old half brother, LaVonne Harrod, on the evening of June 18, signaling what could be a tough summer for local residents and police.
“Generally, we ramp up our efforts during the summer months,” said Kendale Adams, a spokesman for IMPD.
Andre and LaVonne were leaving an event at Cloud 9 nightclub on the city’s Westside. Someone fired several gunshots at their green Ford sedan near the corner of West 38th Street and Georgetown Road at a stoplight.
Andre and his brother were among individuals who were leaving the club after waiting for an appearance by rapper Yo Gotti, and being asked to leave by authorities due to safey concerns about overcrowding.
Detectives are still investigating, but believe an altercation took place as fans were leaving, either inside the club or on its parking lot. It is possible that though Andre and LaVonne were not involved in the altercation, they knew someone who was.
“They may have been trying to get that person away from the confrontation and ended up getting the brunt of everything,” Stennette said. “A lot of people are talking about what happened with friends and cousins, but won’t share anything with police. Until that happens and whoever did this is caught, we really won’t know what occurred.”
Summer madness
In Indianapolis, as in many other cities, it has been shown that the rate of violent crime increases during the summer, and so far this summer hasn’t been any different.
Last week, for example, IMPD officers were called to the 2800 block of Brookside Avenue, where they found a man who had been shot and killed lying in front of a house.
On Saturday, shots were fired near a fire station at 30th Street and Capitol Avenue, where 21-year-old Tavein Brashear was pronounced dead, and Jarrett Hall, 19, was wounded. The same day, officers in Lawrence found a man who had been fatally stabbed in a residence on the 9200 block of East 42nd Street.
“We have a serious problem in this community regarding Black-on-Black crime,” said Deputy Mayor Olgen Williams, who himself is African-American.
Williams said the tide of violence, especially in predominantly Black areas such as his Haughville neighborhood, will not change until more people refuse to tolerate violence committed by Blacks against each other in their own community.
“If a Black man gets killed by a non-Black, we have a fit,” Williams said. “But if five Blacks get killed in an altercation with other Blacks, we keep on drinking our Starbucks and don’t think nothing of it.”
Williams, who has worked extensively with at-risk youth and gangs as a community activist, added that a variety of factors contribute to an increase in violence. They can include a lack of strong parental guidance for at-risk youth, a limited amount of positive activities in areas where young people roam the streets, provocative comments on social media and people who simply make poor choices in the heat of the moment.
“They think a weapon will resolve their situation and don’t consider the consequences,” he said.
The price everyone pays
Sabrina Stennette agrees that people who can’t get past their anger and choose to take someone’s life have not only killed the victim, but also caused pain to that person’s family and every individual they touched.
“When someone is angry, they often react to whatever is taking place at the moment, and don’t think about everyone a person is attached to,” she said. “All they need to do is think of someone they love, and the pain they would feel if that person was taken away from them. How would you feel if someone took away the person you love?”
Stennette said if someone had taken a moment to consider that question, Andre and his brother might be alive. His killers took away someone who had a positive impact.
“From an early age, Andre was a giver,” Stennette said.
Andre loved basketball, serving as a star varsity player at the Charles Tindley Academy and a referee at Ball State University. As a toddler he volunteered for the Mozel Sanders Thanksgiving Day dinner, and at age eight formed Andre’s Wish Foudnation to raise awareness about cancer.
Later, after a friend was killed, Andre formed Play It 4ward, a non-profit organization that uses sports to keep youth active in positive activities. Ironically, Andre worked to prevent violence, but ended up losing his life to it.
“Even I didn’t realize the impact he had on people until I heard what his friends had to say at the service, and saw all the people in the balcony at our church,” Stennette said. “Some people have lived 50 or 60 years and haven’t given what he contributed.”
Solutions
Fortunately, there are ways to prevent violent crime before it occurs.
Deputy Mayor Williams encourages residents to be more engaged in the lives of children, and take ownership of their neighborhoods by offering positive outreach programs through churches and community centers.
“The city can make sure roads are paved, that street lights are working and trash is picked up, but it can’t save everyone,” Williams said. “Citizens must stand up, help police their neighborhoods, volunteer and send a strong message that violence won’t be tolerated.”
Williams added, however, that city officials will make sure programs such as parks activities are available throughout the summer.
“There will be opportunities for people to do things and have a good time, such as college tours, basketball tournaments and swimming pools,” Williams said.
Area ministers are working together to reduce gun violence. The Baptist Ministers Alliance and the Interdenominational Ministers Alliance will host a gun buy back program on July 14, beginning at noon on the parking lot of the Challenge Foundation, 3920 Meadows Dr. Gun owners will have an opportunity to make extra money and get rid of their weapons, no questions asked.
“This is an opportunity for the community to take another step in stopping the violence,” said Rev. Fitzhugh Lyons, pastor of Galilee Missionary Baptist Church and president of the Interdenominational Ministers Alliance.
Adams, the IMPD spokesman, cautions people to remember that association can sometimes lead to trouble.
“You have to be careful in a lot of places where you go and who you go with,” Adams said. “Just don’t associate yourself with others who you know are doing wrong because if you get caught up in that you’re probably going to get into some trouble.”
Since Andre’s death, Stennette said she has met several other mothers who are also coping with loss due to violent crime. She has pledged to keep Andre’s peace organization, Play It 4ward, alive.
“Families in this situation draw strength from each other,” she said. “All I can really hold on to is the fact that Andre and LaVonne can’t die in vain – where the community forgets about them until something like this happens again. We have to continue to be out here and encourage youth to stop and think. If you kill someone, not only is the victim’s life gone, but your life is gone if you are caught. Two families are affected.”
