'Violence interrupters' seizing the moment?

The AM/DM · Apr 9, 2026 · 1m

For more than a decade, the City of Memphis has tried to quell gun violence by talking to potential perpetrators and intervening with them before they might make life-altering choices. How does the city do it? Using several nonprofits and people, mostly men, called "violence interrupters." The nonprofits identify people deemed to be at risk of perpetrating violence — because they are connected either to a known shooter or a shooting victim — and the mentors try to help them stay on a good path. But now the city is doubling down. And it's doing so at a time when, potentially, it could seize…