TUCSON, ARIZ.(KGUN) — Dr. N’Tare Gault says he was in complete shock when he found out about the shooting from his family on Facebook. Now the tight-knit community he came from is dealing with an unthinkable trauma.
"I lived in an area called Hamlin Park which is a half mile up from where the shooting was. Everytime I went to my parents house I drove by that supermarket,” Gault said.
Dr. Gault spends his days lecturing classes in Africana Studies at the University of Arizona. He says the recent shooting at the tops grocery store in Buffalo that killed 10 people shook the community he grew up to the core.
“You could not walk into that place and not know somebody. The security guard who was killed went to school with my brother and sister,” Gault said.
As a teen N’Tare would perform poetry shows at the Tops grocery store and says going home will never be the same.
"My initial feeling was I couldn’t stop crying. When I go back there, I can’t go home without driving by there, it's going to mean something different when I go back there” Gault said.
Dr. Gault wants to make sure that people understand the true impact of another trauma in a community that has faced racial issues in the past.
“We need White people to go to other White people and say that racism exists. We need White politicians to go to White churches and say this is what we are going to do to stop racism and these racial killings,” Gault said.
The grocery store that was fought for in a food desert became the scene of an overwhelming tragedy. The store opened in 2003, serving families and the elderly who lived nearby.
“That Black area is a gathering spot it's our home. It's our place of refuge and it felt like that was shattered. This can’t continue this is wrong,” Gault said.
Dr. Gault says he is in communication with his family and families of the victims back home to see how he can help.
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