Shortly after completing his sentence in federal prison for drug offenses, the Reverend Christobal Kimmenez came face-to-face with the boy who shot and killed his 14-year-old son, William, three years earlier. Kimmenez was preaching in the Maryland juvenile detention facility where the young shooter was locked up. “He didn’t know I was coming, and I didn’t know he was there,” he said.
Kimmenez suppressed his anger at the boy, who was 12 at the time of the slaying, and leaned on his religious convictions. He told his son’s killer that he forgave him. At the time, Kimmenez didn’t realize that he and the young shooter had begun the process of restorative justice, a criminal justice approach designed to rehabilitate offenders through reconciliation with their victims.
In Philadelphia, where Kimmenez is based, the violence and crime that has plagued many communities for generations has given rise to a subculture of advocates and activists committed to stemming the bloodshed. Some speak on behalf of victims or focus on addressing the needs of perpetrators to prevent them from offending again. Others, like Kimmenez, speak for both victims and ex-offenders. Kimmenez, who spent some time incarcerated himself, recently spoke with The Trace’s Mensah M. Dean about his work, the root causes of gun violence, and his trip to Washington, D.C., for the first Survivors Speak March.
From The Trace
- A Pastor Forgave the Young Shooter Who Killed His Son. Now, He Helps Others Do the Same: The Reverend Christobal Kimmenez has joined others in calling for greater services for survivors of crime and the formerly incarcerated, including restorative justice.
- In 2019, Congress Finally Funded Gun Violence Research. Here’s How It’s Changed the Field: A Trace analysis of federal data found that the amount of money going to gun violence studies has soared since lawmakers lifted a de facto federal funding ban.
- Chicago’s Gun Violence Has Gotten Deadlier. Here’s What That Means for Residents: Survivors living with the ripple effects of the city’s gun deaths have ideas about how to help.
What to Know Today
Replica guns don’t fire real bullets, but they’re still getting Americans killed. Data shows that 12 people have been shot and killed by police while in possession of a replica gun just this year; that number adds up to at least 320 over the past decade. Part of the problem: Under federal law, “traditional BB, paint-ball, or pellet-firing air guns” aren’t required to have marks distinguishing them from real guns, meaning that the replicas are allowed to look completely realistic. As The Trace’s Alain Stephens reported in 2019, the replica business has proved lucrative for gunmakers. [CBS]
In the 10 weeks after a shooter attempted to assassinate former President Donald Trump at a Pennsylvania campaign rally, advertisers, including gun advocates, paid Meta — Facebook and Instagram’s parent company — between $593,000 and $813,000 for political ads mentioning the attack. It’s one example of how the company turns a profit from real-world violence: An analysis of its revenue shows that wars and mass shootings have also been ad revenue opportunities for Meta. [The Markup and CalMatters]
A report from the Texas Council on Family Violence found that domestic violence-related gun homicides in the state have nearly doubled since 2013. According to the council, 205 domestic violence victims were killed by their intimate partners in Texas last year. Almost all of those killings were perpetrated with a firearm. At least 20 of the killers were subject to protective orders and thus barred from having firearms. [KERA]
The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security warned that domestic extremists with “election-related grievances,” such as “anger toward perceived political adversaries,” could turn to violence in the weeks before and after the November election, according to a new intelligence bulletin. [CNN]
A California judge blocked the full release of an investigation into Vallejo police officers’ practice of “badge bending,” a ritual in which some officers bent the tips of their badges to commemorate police shootings. The decision came during a closed hearing that apparently took place behind locked doors — highly unusual for a civil court case, and per a First Amendment Coalition attorney, potentially illegal — and largely settles the case in favor of Vallejo police. [Open Vallejo]
At a recent campaign event in Erie, Pennsylvania, Donald Trump called for retail thieves to experience “one really violent day” and “one rough hour” at the hands of police. His comments drew comparisons to the dystopian movie franchise “The Purge” and recalled the former president’s attempts to implement policies that would enable a militarized police force to act with impunity. Some in his administration referred to the effort as plans for “American death squads.” Trump has shown no sign of backing off those plans since leaving office — if anything, he’s doubled down. [Rolling Stone]
The family of a New Jersey man who was left permanently disabled after an off-duty New York police officer allegedly shot him in the head during a road rage incident is suing the city and its Police Department in federal court. They allege that the officer, who has pleaded not guilty to criminal charges related to the shooting, had mental health problems that his superiors knew about, and that he should not have been issued a service weapon. [Associated Press]
ICYMI: Americans bought an estimated 1.31 million guns in September 2024, according to an analysis of FBI data. That’s up 2 percent from September 2023. [The Trace]
Announcement: “In Guns We Trust” — produced by Long Lead and Campside Media in partnership with The Trace — was nominated for Signal Listener’s Choice Awards in three categories: History; Documentary; and Activism, Public Service and Social Impact. Did you like the podcast? Help us win by casting your vote before October 17.
Data Point
12 million — the number of BB and pellet guns that were bought in the United States in 2023. [CBS]
Non Sequitur
A Very Ugly Year In The Life of a D.C. Little League: “As is usually the case in Little League debacles, the season from hell had nothing to do with the kids or anything that happened on the field.” [Defector]