Trauma team steps into Slavic Village neighborhood to console residents shocked by slayings of children, adults

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) - The trauma response team trained by MetroHealth Medical Center was on East 63rd Street in the Slavic Village neighborhood of Cleveland on Tuesday evening following the violent murders of 4 people, including two children, on the street.

Bishop Tony Minor, leads the trauma team, he’s the Manager of Outreach at Metro Health Medical Center and the Pastor of Faith Assembly in Slavic Village.

“We’re here to let residents know they are not alone,” Bishop Minor said, “We know that there is a ripple effect of a violent event like this.”

Bishop Minor explained that the ripple effect moves from the family of the victims, into the neighborhood, and the belief of this trauma team is that some in the neighborhood don’t even realize the effect the trauma has on their lives.

Rev. Jimmy Gates, the pastor of Cleveland’s Zion Hill Baptist Church, is part of the trauma team.

“We’ve learned though our training with Metro Health that sometimes an individual just wants to be heard, they want to be talked to based on what’s going on in their lives,” Rev. Gates said.

The trauma team moved through the neighborhood listening to the concerns of the people who live here, based on the belief that grief is not an individual event; it’s a community event.

'We’re not therapists, we’re not doctors, we’re just community people who care person to person," Bishop Minor explained.

Cleveland police are investigating the murders and while there have been no arrests police say they have several persons of interest.

Copyright 2019 WOIO. All rights reserved.