A Milwaukee Gun Violence Survivor Embraces Firearms Training

Zac Schultz:
City leaders in Milwaukee have new ammunition in their efforts to lower gun violence. A Milwaukee mom who is a gun owner is one of many people taking advantage of the free resources from the city and a gun store. “Here & Now” reporter Murv Seymour shows us how education is being used as a weapon to lower violence from guns. A word of warning, this story contains sounds of loud gunfire.

Alexander Ayala:
Today, one of our officers was shot in the line of duty.

Murv Seymour:
On the front line to protect people from gun violence and from the scene of a recent shooting…

Jeffrey Norman:
The suspect, an unidentified male, sustained fatal gunshots.

Murv Seymour:
…Milwaukee’s top cop and mayor have a message for the city about its problems with gun violence.

Jeffrey Norman:
Using a firearm to bring violence into our community — absolutely unacceptable.

Murv Seymour:
According to ShotSpotter, the detection system Milwaukee Police uses to track when gunshots are fired in the city, over 11,000 rang out in Milwaukee neighborhoods in 2024. The amount of violent and deadly shootings is slightly down, but the numbers are too high, says Chief Norman.

Antonia Perry:
I come from a very close knitted family.

Murv Seymour:
Meet Antonia Perry.

Antonia Perry:
My faith is very high in the Lord, like I hear him talk to me.

Murv Seymour:
A single mom raising two boys, Antonia is all about family. She lives in what she describes as a pretty nice community, but…

Antonia Perry:
It’s very triggering.

Murv Seymour:
…a closer look reveals subtle signs that living here can be tough.

Antonia Perry:
We hear gunshots every night.

Murv Seymour:
Some nights, ShotSpotter lights up as gunshots echo through the neighborhood.

Antonia Perry:
Oh, they’re over there on 39th. Op, that sound like Sherman. They might be in the alley across the street. Like, we can hear, like, where it’s coming from. It puts me in a dark place to hear all that shooting.

Murv Seymour:
A dark place because Antonia knows about gun violence. She and one of her sons are survivors of reckless gun violence.

Antonia Perry:
Just from hearing the shots, I’ve thought I’ve been shot again.

Murv Seymour:
A long-time gun owner with a concealed carry license, Antonia keeps her weapons safely stored and locked away from her kids.

Antonia Perry:
He broke into my house and took the gun.

Murv Seymour:
So she thought.

Antonia Perry:
That’s when he went in the alley, shooting it with his cousin.

Murv Seymour:
Two weeks before this interview, her then 14-year-old son leaves a shelter meant to give parents and kids a break from each other during difficult times. He comes to this alley behind their home and fires the gun. It’s the second time in two years that he’s taken her weapon.

Antonia Perry:
They emptied the gun. It had about 11 shots. Nobody was hurt. Thank God.

Murv Seymour:
The two boys videotaped the entire thing.

Antonia Perry:
On a video, you see both of them shooting a gun. My worst fear was actually burying him. Having to bury him because he could have killed himself. He could have hurt somebody else.

Murv Seymour:
Antonia’s fears didn’t end there.

Antonia Perry:
I couldn’t find my firearm. I checked him. It wasn’t on his body, but he wouldn’t tell me where it was. But then he still proceeded to go to the school. I couldn’t have him go to the school until I knew I had my firearm. They checked the premises and they didn’t find it.

Murv Seymour:
Grieving, desperate and torn, in the spirit of tough love, Antonia makes a gut-wrenching decision.

Antonia Perry:
Took him to the police station and I showed them the video and they arrested him. I feel horrible. Like, I’m the mom. This is my baby. This is my son, and I’m turning him into the police.

Murv Seymour:
Emotionally broken, she turns to her faith.

Antonia Perry:
I let one of the pastors at the church know my story, and he got me connected with a guy named Quinn.

Murv Seymour:
Quinn Taylor works for the City of Milwaukee’s Office of Community Safety and Wellness. He’s also a member of Evolve Church.

Quinn Taylor:
So Narcan is for individuals that might be suffering from overdose.

Murv Seymour:
From what’s called the community resource table, Quinn explains how resources on this table help connect the community with city resources. The city offers gun safety help for families who live in Milwaukee neighborhoods, coping with the most gun violence and the fewest prevention resources.

Theron Rogers
Prolific Arms, Theron speaking. Yes, absolutely. We should be able to do that for you.

Murv Seymour:
In one of its new programs, the city partners with Prolific Arms.

Eddie Silas:
We have a bunch of different weapons.

Murv Seymour:
A gun store in nearby West Allis that does a lot more than sell guns.

Eddie Silas:
We’re educators that just happen to sell guns.

Murv Seymour:
Owners Theron Rogers and Eddie Silas are unique gun store owners.

Eddie Silas:
Out of 6,000 gun stores in the United States, there’s only 15 being Black owned.

Murv Seymour:
And in Wisconsin.

Eddie Silas:
As we know of, it’s only two. The mission is to educate as many people as possible. The city of Milwaukee said, “Hey, we want to do something about gun violence.” The solution is education and also resources. People think these bullets just go out of space. No, they do not, right? They go up and come down with enough force to kill somebody.

Murv Seymour:
According to the Milwaukee Police Department, almost 60% of guns stolen throughout the city are taken from one place — your vehicle. Criminals are constantly weaving through crowded public parking lots at bars, restaurants, sporting events, hospitals, city buildings, pretty much anywhere you have your vehicle and your weapon unattended. City officials are fighting back and they say you can too, with education and one simple tool.

Eddie Silas:
These right here are lock boxes sponsored by the City of Milwaukee Office of Wellness and Safety.

Murv Seymour:
In its partnership, the city provides free gun storage lock cases and Prolific Arms gives them out and installs them for anyone who takes their concealed carry firearm safety class at Evolve Church.

Eddie Silas:
We’ve been able to train 150 members of the community in firearm education since the start of the year.

Theron Rogers:
And it sounds like you did have a safe and have it locked away.

Murv Seymour:
We sat in as the team at Prolific Arms set aim towards helping Antonia Perry.

Theron Rogers:
What do you think you could have done better?

Murv Seymour:
It’s a free, one hour firearms safety assessment available to any gun owner who wants it.

Theron Rogers:
This here is SnapSafe lock box. You get two keys. We’re going to be able to give out 750 of these. So you’re going to be one of the recipients of that.

Murv Seymour:
The house call goes over things like how many weapons are in the home? How and where is it stored? How many kids live in the house and what’s the plan if you have to reach for your weapon?

Theron Rogers:
You know, someone’s in my house. What do you do? Do you have a designated meeting place in case of an emergency?

Quinn Taylor:
If you are possessing a firearm in your house, it shouldn’t be a secret to those who’s living there.

Theron Rogers:
But it’s vitally important that not only us, our youth get access to the education piece.

Antonia Perry:
I also learned to educate the kids and not hide it from them. Let them know that it is there and how dangerous it is. If something was to happen if they playing around with a gun.

Eddie Silas:
We care about this because this is our community. We grew up here. Our family’s here. The people that we love, our friends. We’ve taken a lot of losses.

Murv Seymour:
Back at Evolve Church, steps from its community table, inside their teen room…

Eddie Silas:
If you’re relying on a safety for your safety, that’s a bad decision. You need to be your safety.

Murv Seymour:
…Antonia Perry, her two boys and almost 50 inner city gun owners gather for this Saturday firearm safety course.

Eddie Silas:
We teach everything from safe handling, proper storage.

Theron Rogers:
If this weapon unintentionally goes off, that round is going to go through the floor.

Murv Seymour:
For a small fee and four hours of time, some receive their concealed carry permit. Others, like Antonia, refresh themselves while educating their kids about gun safety.

Quinn Taylor:
You have mothers. You have fathers. You have even kids. You have everything that represents a community in this training.

Theron Rogers:
Practicing proper firearm storage.

Audience:
Practicing proper firearm storage.

Murv Seymour:
Participants also take part in what’s called the “Prolific Pledge.”

Eddie Silas:
The “Prolific Pledge” is us getting the community to commit to the goal of safe firearm ownership and education.

Murv Seymour:
Eleven miles from her house, Antonia continues her education.

Eddie Silas:
So go ahead and slowly squeeze the trigger.

Murv Seymour:
With firearm safety expert Eddie Silas at her side, she prepares to do something she’s never done as a 17-year-long gun owner. Fire her weapon.

Eddie Silas:
Your feet can either be a shoulder length apart, slight bend on your knees.

Antonia Perry:
I’ve never had that, that chance to do that because I’m always in the house being the mother. I’m working. I’m going to school. I’m cooking. I’m cleaning. I’m taking care of the kids.

Murv Seymour:
Before she pulls the trigger, Eddie provides a 20-minute hands on refresher on firing weapons.

Eddie Silas:
So now you’re going to grab the magazine, insert it. Finger off the trigger. You want to choke up a little bit more if you can. Everything looks good. I’m ready to get out on the range.

Murv Seymour:
Working out of stall four, the sound and power of gunfire almost instantly startles Antonia.

Antonia Perry:
Ooh! Sh*&!

Eddie Silas:
You see her shake? A lot of people in our community are walking around with PTSD and they don’t know it. She almost turned around and walked out of there.

Antonia Perry:
For me, it felt like it was going through my body, and I don’t know if it’s because I’ve already been shot before.

Murv Seymour:
At times, with shell casings flying everywhere, Eddie has to stop and calm Antonio’s nerves.

Eddie Silas:
All right, don’t — I see you shaking. Put it down. Take a deep breath.

Murv Seymour:
Eventually, Antonia does collect her poise.

Eddie Silas:
An intruder can be in your house right now. Your kids can be screaming.

Antonia Perry:
It took a minute to, like, get my stance and tune out the shooting, but once my coach gave me some pointers, I was able to, you know, feel more comfortable with shooting, shooting the gun.

Eddie Silas:
It’s brave. She’s absolutely brave.

Murv Seymour:
Within a few days of partnering with the city of Milwaukee, owners of a gun store and her church, Antonia Perry becomes a more educated gun owner and mom.

Eddie Silas:
We need more mothers just like her. She probably saved his life and she don’t even know it.

Antonia Perry:
I believe that all of this is for a reason, and we’re going be all right. We’re going be all right.

Murv Seymour:
Reporting from Milwaukee, I’m Murv Seymour for Here & Now.