"Don't Wait Til It's Your Family Member. Don't Wait Til It's You."

Pictured: S.O.S. members in Herbert Von King Park on Wednesday. Photos by John V. Santore

BED-STUY, BROOKLYN — On Wednesday afternoon, children played baseball in Bed-Stuy's Herbert Von King Park. Couples sat on the grass. Others lounged on benches, enjoying the summer weather.

When the group from Save Our Streets Brooklyn showed up, a different message permeated the seemingly peaceful space: don't be complacent.

Citywide crime has hit historic lows, the NYPD announced recently. Shootings have fallen, too, with 435 recorded during the first six months of the year, compared to 545 last year.

Herbert Von King Park is patrolled by the NYPD's 79th Precinct, where through July 10, 13 shootings with 15 victims had been recorded, compared to 14 shootings with 18 victims during the same period last year.

But that doesn't change the fact that two neighborhood shootings took place in recent days, prompting Wednesday's rally.

On July 17, a 31-year-old man was shot in the backside at the intersection of Lexington Avenue and Marcy Avenue. And on July 20, a 33-year-old man was shot in the back and leg inside the park. Both victims survived. There have been no arrests in either case.

Save Our Streets (S.O.S.) mediates disputes between community members, and counsels those most at risk for being the victims and perpetrators of gun violence. Many of its workers are from the neighborhoods they patrol, and have made the mistakes they seek to prevent.

The group makes its presence felt following shootings, in an attempt to show that gun violence won't be tolerated. As the members marched around the park, they shared a bull horn, taking turns spreading their message, and urging anyone who would listen to never accept violence as something normal in their community.

Here are a few voices from the day:

"Every single person here matters," said Councilwoman Laurie Cumbo, whose district borders Bed-Stuy. "Every single person is precious. Every single person is valuable. Our lives matter. We desire to have black lives flourish and realize their full potential."

Laurie Cumbo speaks during the S.O.S. rally

When asked how gun violence had affected her life, Shneaqua "Coco Puff" Purvis, an outreach worker with S.O.S., said calmly that her 28-year-old sister, Maisha "Pumpkin" Hubbard, was killed in 2002 when a stray bullet flew through the window of her home at Bed-Stuy's Thompkins Houses.

"It struck Ms. Hubbard in the head as she sat in her bedroom watching football," The New York Times reported at the time. The article continues: "Ms. Hubbard's sister, Shneaqua Purvis, 32, said she ran into her sister's room just after the shooting stopped and found her husband and her sister on the floor. ''My husband stood up,' she said. 'But my sister didn't.'"

On Wednesday, when Shneaqua took the bull horn, she asked everyone to speak out against gun violence. "Don't wait til it's your family member," she said. "Don't wait til it's you. Don't wait til it's your child. Don't wait til it's your parent."

Shneaqua Purvis

"I grew up in this park," said David Gaskin, a program manager with S.O.S. "I did the most damage in my life on Lexington between Thompkins and Marcy." Some of those things involved guns, he said, which sent him to jail.

"If you're not moving to save our streets, you're moving to destroy our streets," he said. "I had to carry a gun to survive. I saw people lose their life to gun violence. I have two sons. I want something different for them than I had growing up."

David Gaskin

"Gun violence is unacceptable in our community," said David Grant, a program manager's assistant with S.O.S. "We should not just talk about it when the police shoot our youth, we should be outraged when we shoot each other. That's worse."

"I grew up seeing violence," he said. "I was taught violence was a way to end your problems." Grant said he grew up in Harlem in the 1990's, when gun violence was more common than it is today. He said he's known more than 100 people who were shot dead.

Back then, gun violence was linked to the drug trade, he said. Today, it's more random, more the result of personal feuds spawned online, until eventually one participant messages another to "pop out," meaning to meet for a fight.

"It's more senseless gun violence [than before]," Grant said. "It's personal disrespect. It's straight from fist-fighting to guns. That's what's alarming and scary."

Grant said he worries that people and the press don't pay enough attention to gun shootings. If one case of the Zika virus was reported in Bed-Stuy, he said, it would be a major story. But "since it's gun violence, they're so desensitized, it's another day."

David Grant