Profiles

Ricochet

The United States has a gun violence crisis and a proud gun culture, a powerful firearms industry and a potent movement to reduce shootings. But regular Americans are affected by guns in profound ways that can be hard to categorize. These are their stories.

Public Health

Losing Her Daughter to Gunfire Left Her Inconsolable. A Trauma Recovery Center Saved Her Life.

After Alexis Jackson witnessed her daughter’s shooting, she found unexpected support among trauma survivors and was inspired to form her own Cleveland collective for victims of gun violence.

Fairriona Magee

Full Coverage

A Stray Bullet Struck Her Sister. Now, Her Violence Prevention Work Includes the Man Who Fired the Gun.

Ricochet

A Stray Bullet Struck Her Sister. Now, Her Violence Prevention Work Includes the Man Who Fired the Gun.

The day Shneaqua Purvis lost her sister changed the direction of her life.

Laura Esposito
For Two Decades, He Studied the Root Causes of Violence. Then He Was Caught in a Shootout.

Ricochet

For Two Decades, He Studied the Root Causes of Violence. Then He Was Caught in a Shootout.

To make sense of his experience, Volkan Topalli reflected on years of conversations with the people most vulnerable to crime.

Fairriona Magee
After Her Sister’s Suicide, Her Work Became Saving Others’ Lives.

Ricochet

After Her Sister’s Suicide, Her Work Became Saving Others’ Lives.

Kelly Asher-Smalt believes her sister’s life could have been saved. Now, with a community program in Erie County, she advocates for keeping firearms out of reach of people at risk of harming themselves.

Camalot Todd
LA’s ‘Daycrawler’ Knows Something About Gun Violence. Who’s Listening?

Ricochet

LA’s ‘Daycrawler’ Knows Something About Gun Violence. Who’s Listening?

Nash Baker’s social media channels, known as A Million Hits, serve the communities in LA that are most affected by gun violence with on-the-ground coverage of crimes that are often ignored by local media.

Abené Clayton
It’s Hard to Talk About Gun Violence With Young People. This Artist Uses Murals to Start the Conversation.

Ricochet

It’s Hard to Talk About Gun Violence With Young People. This Artist Uses Murals to Start the Conversation.

Warren Montoya guides students in New Mexico through public art projects that help them name their trauma. “I see so many things in these young people that remind me of myself,” he says.

Ann Givens
Ryan Busse Was a Rising Star in the Gun Industry. Then He Had a Change of Heart.

Ricochet

Ryan Busse Was a Rising Star in the Gun Industry. Then He Had a Change of Heart.

The former executive started to question some of the political positions he’d accepted all his life — and to feel complicit in the country's tragedies.

Ann Givens
Nine Years After Her Son Was Shot, She Helps Grieving Parents Keep Their Children’s Memories Alive

Ricochet

Nine Years After Her Son Was Shot, She Helps Grieving Parents Keep Their Children’s Memories Alive

Natasha Christopher felt abandoned by city officials, who never solved her son’s murder. Now she works to make sure others who lose their kids know they’re not alone.

Ann Givens
Close Friends, Unwittingly Linked by a Childhood Shooting

Community Violence

Close Friends, Unwittingly Linked by a Childhood Shooting

Tashante McCoy-Ham and Deion Short became friends before they realized that he had been involved in the shooting that wounded her at 15. “There’s always a deeper story about how people become who they are."

Ann Givens
After Two Decades Helping Victims Through Tragedy, a Grocery Store Shooting Brought Her Work Home

Ricochet

After Two Decades Helping Victims Through Tragedy, a Grocery Store Shooting Brought Her Work Home

Stephanie Rudy has witnessed many shades of grief. Watching her entire community react to the King Soopers shooting felt different.

Ann Givens
After Losing Her Son in a Shooting, She Planted a Garden for Healing. She Hopes It Will Inspire Reform.

Ricochet

After Losing Her Son in a Shooting, She Planted a Garden for Healing. She Hopes It Will Inspire Reform.

Marlene Pratt feared New Haven after her son’s killing. But organizing a memorial garden — the first permanent tribute to victims of local gun violence — reestablished her bond with the city.

Dylan Walsh

Support journalism that shines a light on gun violence.

Ricochet

Losing Her Daughter to Gunfire Left Her Inconsolable. A Trauma Recovery Center Saved Her Life.

Full Coverage

A Stray Bullet Struck Her Sister. Now, Her Violence Prevention Work Includes the Man Who Fired the Gun.

For Two Decades, He Studied the Root Causes of Violence. Then He Was Caught in a Shootout.

After Her Sister’s Suicide, Her Work Became Saving Others’ Lives.

LA’s ‘Daycrawler’ Knows Something About Gun Violence. Who’s Listening?

It’s Hard to Talk About Gun Violence With Young People. This Artist Uses Murals to Start the Conversation.

Ryan Busse Was a Rising Star in the Gun Industry. Then He Had a Change of Heart.

Nine Years After Her Son Was Shot, She Helps Grieving Parents Keep Their Children’s Memories Alive

Close Friends, Unwittingly Linked by a Childhood Shooting

After Two Decades Helping Victims Through Tragedy, a Grocery Store Shooting Brought Her Work Home

After Losing Her Son in a Shooting, She Planted a Garden for Healing. She Hopes It Will Inspire Reform.