Fear and easy access to guns drive youth shootings in Virginia, study finds

Trae Watkins grew up in a tough South Richmond neighborhood off of Hull Street. He left Virginia Military Institute a strong believer in the Second Amendment — and with a notion that he might be able to help kids find ways out of the trouble and violence that kids in many tough neighborhoods face.

He joined a research project led by University of Virginia professors Andrew Block and Lucy Guarnera to explore gun violence and young people. He says he was shocked at what he heard when he interviewed teenagers in cities across the state.

“They’re all terrified,” he said.

Another big shock was how many teenagers had guns — and how easy it is for them to get guns.

“They were saying they could get guns as easily as a bag of weed,” he said.

Yet another shock was the impact of social media.

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