My anti-gun crusade

Oct 31 2007 by Caroline Innes, Liverpool Daily Post

CHILDREN in Liverpool are coming face to face with the harsh reality of gun crime as a grieving mother takes her son’s pellet-ridden coat into their classrooms.

Paula Ogunboro said it breaks her heart every time she has to look at her son Eugene’s jacket, but believes if the shocking consequences of guns stops one child joining a gang or using a firearm then it is worth the tears.

She is soon to give a talk in the Croxteth and Norris Green area, following the death of 11-year-old Rhys Jones.

Mrs Ogunboro believes her family are as much victims of gun crime as the son she lost almost four years ago, when he was aged just 25.

Eugene Ogunboro was shot twice with a sawn-off shotgun after a row at a house party in Toxteth in November 2003.

Robert Davies, from Wavertree, is serving 14 years for the killing.

Since his death, Mrs Ogunboro has become one of the founders of Liverpool charity Mothers against Murder, which campaigns against gun crime in the city.

Now she has embarked on a tour of the city’s schools, giving a two hour heart-wrenching presentation about how her life was torn apart when her son was murdered.

She said: “I take no prisoners with my talk.

“There is no glamour in death and killing and I want the children to see just what happens to people and their families when guns become involved.

“I start out asking them how cool they think guns are and then show them slides of children and young adults lying out cold on a morgue slab.

“I tell them about what it was like seeing my son dead and how nearly four years on, I am still grieving for him.

“And then I show them the coat he was wearing when he was murdered.

“It knocks me sick every time I have to look at it. It really does break my heart.

“But I get it out and I make them look at it and touch it if they want to.

“I get right in their faces and tell them to really look at those holes in the fabric and what they mean.

“It nearly kills me every time I go into a school. It is exhausting, but I know I am doing some good.

“It is shocking but if it stops just one young person getting involved in gun crime then it has been worth doing it.”

She has now been asked to also do a presentation at Cobalt Housing Tenants’ Association’s Conference, which has properties predominantly in Croxteth and Norris Green, areas blighted by gun crime and gang culture.

She said: “If it takes shock tactics to show children that killing is wrong, then I will use them.

“I know I am making a difference.

“At one school, there was one lad who would not give me eye contact throughout my talk. I went right up to him and he broke down and started saying that he was sorry.

“After speaking to teachers they said they had been concerned about the path he was going down for some time. I know that I really got to him that day. Eugene’s coat was destroyed and was left covered in his blood.

“It is the only thing I have left of him and I will use it to do as much good as I can.”

OPINION: PAGE 12

carolineinnes