Arnedria Hogg carries a gun with her.
The Como resident and mother of two boys — one who just turned 15 and another who is 6 — is wary about being in open, public spaces. Her internal radar is always on, always watching, to see if she’ll need to use her gun to protect her boys, because “you never know what might happen,” she said.
“You can pray with me or play with me. Either way, I’m going to take you to the King, you know what I’m saying?” Hogg said.
On July 3, her fears played out. A shooting at a block party in Como killed three people and injured eight. The police have not arrested anyone yet. Two of those killed were 18; the other victim was 22.
As the community grapples with gun violence, parents are left trying to raise children in a city where gun violence among youth is on the rise. As of June 2023, before the shooting in Como, nineteen teens in Fort Worth had died by gun violence since January 2022. From 1999 to 2020, Tarrant County has averaged 18 shooting deaths of teens per year, according to the CDC.
“I feel sad because this community, they take great pride in reaching out to the community and making sure that everybody gets to celebrate the culture of what this community built with their own hands,” Hogg said of Como. “To see somebody from the outside take that away from them and this community gain traction nationally for something bad. … It’s heartbreaking.”
At a gathering of Black clergy leaders on July 5 at Como First Baptist Church, Tarrant County Commissioner Roy Brooks said he is angry, and gun violence is not a problem the government can solve on its own. The city and county recently formed the One Second Collaborative to help fight gun violence in the city’s youth.
“Government has to be in collaboration with community,” he said. “And community has to be dedicated to the conversation that the only way we can solve this is by teaching people how to love one another and how to love themselves.”
Brooks then told the packed church: “I understand and I accept the fact that a lot of this is rooted in the fact that our school system does not work.”
Gun violence is rooted in families not having opportunities to advance and hopelessness in a generation, Brooks said.
Police Chief Neil Noakes asked the church if he could be honest. After a resounding yes, he asked, “Who raised that generation?”
“We talk a lot about young people these days. Every generation talks about the next, about what’s wrong,” he said. “Who raised that generation and whose responsibility is it now to do something about it?”
Young people face criticism and abandonment, and that leads to the hopelessness Brooks mentioned, too, Noakes said. Children need hope and support.
Fort Worth ISD Superintendent Angélica Ramsey said Brooks is right in that society has a collective responsibility to provide a safe environment for children, but this is a national crisis, not just a Fort Worth issue.
“We need to collectively raise our voices and say enough is enough. Since 2020, children and teenagers in America are more likely to die by guns than any other cause or means, with 12 children dying in that way daily,” said Ramsey, who is part of the One Second Collaborative.“I am outraged. If 12 of my students died every day, we’d find a solution, and fast. Gun violence is a solvable problem. What we need is the collective will to solve it.”
Ramsey firmly believes public schools continue to be the foundation of democracy and the best opportunity for students and families to realize their dreams.
“We’re not perfect, but we remain the best hope for all children to learn the skills and knowledge they need to pursue opportunities,” she said.
A cycle of violence
Thirty years ago, Hogg lost an uncle to gang violence.
“If you don’t know your history, you’re bound to repeat it,” she said. “There’s a history in the hood, where we called it ‘Murder Worth’ because 30 years ago the same thing was happening.”
Two years ago, a shooting in Como wounded eight people.
For decades, Hogg has prayed and hoped for a solution to violence, just to see it tear apart her community again. She doesn’t want her boys to see or feel the same trauma she’s endured, so she does her best to protect them with mentorship programs or other resources.
As she discussed her boys in the lobby of Como First Baptist Church, a police officer walked by and gave her his card. The officer told her to call him, because he can help her boys with mentorship programs.
In schools, teachers work every day to listen to, connect with and mentor students, Ramsey said. Violence affects everyone, but schools work endlessly to be a safety net.
“(Teachers) serve students because they want to see them thrive and grow in a safe place,” she said. “Our district’s role in the community is to create a sense of hope, possibility and provide students and families with the support they need to be successful.”
Time to get innovative
Fixing gun violence in the community requires innovative thinking, Pastor Kyev Tatum, of New Mount Rose Missionary Baptist Church in east Fort Worth, said July 5.
“You’ve got to be willing to think innovatively,” Tatum said. “You’ve got to be willing to put the economic viability behind any plan you put in place.”
Ramsey previously told the Report it’s not uncommon for police activity to put the school day on hold. As a result, gun violence causes both trauma and lost instructional time for students.
“We provide wraparound services to our students and families above and beyond educating them,” Ramsey said. “We too need help. We cannot do it alone. We currently provide food where there is food insecurity. We provide mental health services, including to families. We ensure students are safe with free after school care.”
The school district is having to meet needs outside of education because they aren’t being met elsewhere, Ramsey said. The district’s deficit budget is a reflection of that.
Hogg dreams of a world where young people don’t see violence as an outlet. Until then, she’s careful with what she sees — she refuses to watch videos of the shooting circulating — and she’s careful with what she shows her sons.
“It’s upsetting, but I have optimism and I am hopeful that it will be better now that everybody is aware that it is a problem and we’ve been able to vocalize the unspoken thing, the elephant in the room,” Hogg said. “I’m praying that it will be better than this. It’s really heartbreaking.”
Kristen Barton is an education reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at kristen.barton@fortworthreport.org. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
