PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The sentencing of Kimbrady Carriker for the mass shootings in Kingsessing that took the lives of five people and injured several others in July 2023 does not necessarily mean closure for the community, local leaders say.
The Kingessing Heals Community Resilience Center has become a vital resource for families coping with the aftermath. Tim Massaquoi, the center’s executive director, said the space offers healing workshops, various modes of therapy, and compassion.
“We have a men's group, which I run. It's called the Situation Room, and we focus on men's total wellness,” Massaquoi said. “We focus on mental health, understanding triggers, understanding anxiety, and how to regulate when those things come upon you.”
Funded by the U.S. Department of Justice Office for Victims of Crime, communities impacted by mass shootings with a terroristic component are eligible to have a resilience center to support their recovery in the aftermath of the incident. Massaquoi said it’s been effective and will be needed for years to come because grief is not linear. He’s reminded of the words of a grieving mother of one of the victims.
“You took moments away from me that I will never get back: I'll not see my child graduate, I'll not see the man that he could have become, I won't be a grandma. You took so much life away,” she said.
Massaquoi said the sentencing of Kimbrady Carriker closes a chapter in this community’s story, but it doesn’t give it closure because of the ongoing issue of gun violence in the city.