CINCINNATI — We are 92 days into the year, and as of April 2, the city of Cincinnati has had 48 reported shootings. At St. Francis Seraph School in Over-the-Rhine, students as young as third grade are having real conversations about gun violence.
Retired Cincinnati police officer Andre Ewing partners with the school to talk to students weekly about how to de-escalate violence and stay safe around guns.
"I'm constantly putting this into the kids' minds, because if you ask them, raise your hand, who's familiar with guns? Seen a gun? Know somebody with a gun? They all raised their hand and said that the gun is usually out in plain view," Ewing said.
Principal Jineen Enneking said students come from all over the city, and most walk to school. She said it is important for students to build these skills before high school.
"A lot of them, they've been exposed, so we need to give them a safe place, we need to teach them the skills, how to think before they react. So we have different programs here to help," Enneking said.
Enneking said her husband and son are police officers. She sees what they witness every day, and said it's important to teach the students these skills before they head to high school.
"We need to build those skills now so that they know how to make positive choices and develop positive relationships in third grade," Enneking said. "We have to start young. Our social worker does a character class every month, and we start young because we want them to learn positive character traits, and we get to practice the skills."
WATCH: Students at St. Francis Seraph School are learning how to de-escalate violence and stay safe around guns
Enneking said that when you create an environment that feels safe, you can start the learning process.
Seventh grader Se'vion Lee said he had to protect himself and his sister when he witnessed his friend, 16-year-old Thomas Bell, get shot and killed on the corner of East McMicken Avenue and Walnut Street last year.
"It was really scary, and I didn't know what was going on, and why would they shoot near a playground, and there were a lot of other kids there too," Lee said. "People our age and our generation think that having a gun is more powerful than fame or popularity."
Ewing said adults need to step in to change the narrative.
"Nowadays, when a youth gets killed. It's glamorized. We're going to put you on a t-shirt. We're going to immortalize you. These are what the youth are sharing with me, and in other places," Ewing said. "If we as adults don't break the culture of what exactly is the truth about the situation, then we're going to continue to lose countless amounts of youth to gun violence.
Students said having an expert like Ewing in the classroom is a solution to protecting more youth.
"He also teaches us that we can control ourselves, especially around other people, and then he also teaches us about gun violence," eighth grader Myasia Sockwell said. "So when we know how to control ourselves, we control the objects and people around us."
Stockwell said that she believes some youth resort to gun violence because they are struggling with their mental health or are trying to hide "a fragile ego."
"They want to have guns and stuff because they see grown-ups using them, and see gangs and stuff using them, and they think that's cool, and they just want to feel grown up themselves so they can be treated as an adult. But they don't know what that comes with, especially using a gun, just to be scared over something," Sockwell said.
Enneking said the reality of the violence takes a toll on the school community.
"So if I hear something that's going on outside, my first thought, as well as any of my staff, is that one of our kids is involved? You know, and that's a sad place to be," Enneking said.
Ewing said the classes are also a reminder for parents to be more mindful of what their children may be exposed to.
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