Avula taps state official to lead gun violence prevention office

Atop City Hall’s observation deck, Mayor Danny Avula revealed during a Friday press conference that the city’s Office of Gun Violence Prevention will be led by current state employee Greg Hopkins — the news followed passionate testimonies from community members to the media.

Hopkins, who works in the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services, will help the mayor’s office allocate funding effectively through data-driven means and create a strategy for the city to quell gun violence. Hopkins currently coordinates the Safer Communities and Juvenile Justice Program.

Avula, who made gun violence prevention a major part of his mayoral campaign, said this office is unique from similar initiatives and programs because of its proximity to the mayor. This means there is a singular force to focus Richmond’s efforts. More information about the office and its work will be delivered in the coming months, Avula said.

“The authority of an office that’s organized this way will have a different level of influence and ability to really bring all of those different efforts together,” Avula said.

The announcement took place on National Gun Violence Awareness Day, which was established to honor Hadiya Pendleton — a 17-year-old shot and killed while on a playground in Chicago. Pendleton’s favorite color was orange, and for that reason, attendees and speakers wore the color.

Contributors to gun violence

Richmond Chief of Police Rick Edwards said 70-80% of gun violence stems from disputes involving low impulse control and readily available firearms. Unlike mass shootings, Edwards said these instances of “expressive gun violence” are unplanned.

“I believe in the Second Amendment, but I know not only is it a right, it’s an incredible responsibility,” Edwards said.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, 15- to 34-year-olds experience the highest firearm homicide rates. During her experience with the police department and as a social worker, RPD mediator Gwen Andrews said that gun violence prevention shouldn’t just be reactive. Rather, solutions should address root causes such as poverty and a lack of job opportunities.

“We have to listen to what our young persons are telling us and not talk at them, but with them,” Andrews said.

Focus on youth

Twenty-seven-year-old Kenneth Cooper, Jr., son of Richmonder Laverne McMullen, died from expressive gun violence in 2022. McMullen said Cooper “became a statistic” that fatal April evening, but she chose to “turn her pain into positivity” through activism. 

During her time to speak at the press conference, McMullen called on officials to prioritize young people before they become faces on a memorial T-shirt.

“I know stimulating their minds will help them to stop their index fingers,” McMullen said. “I’m asking you, Mr. Mayor and everyone here, to listen to what I’ve come to say and help me help you help them.”

Taylor Paul — an inmate-turned-co-founder of Virginia’s League for Safer Streets — also emphasized a need to focus on young people. Paul and a fellow inmate, both convicted felons who grew up around violence, started the league to help “eradicate the social ills [they] helped create.”

The league uses basketball to bring young men together, but teaches them problem solving, conflict resolution and critical thinking before they step on the court. This way, Paul said the league’s members will receive the lessons he learned in prison without ending up there in the first place.

While perfection isn’t realistic, Paul said he’s optimistic about Richmond’s direction.

“There was a time when we weren’t invited into spaces like this,” Paul said. “I hope things are changing.

Contact Reporting Intern Eleanor Shaw at eshaw@richmonder.org

This article has been corrected to update a quote from McMullen.