Brandon Hendricks Community Fun Day held Sunday to help end gun violence

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Bronx residents came together to enjoy Brandon Hendricks Community Fun Day to celebrate the life of Brandon "BDiddy" Hendricks at the park at 157th Street and Courtlandt Avenue in the Melrose section of the Bronx. Brandon Hendricks, a former basketball player and fellow Bronx resident tragically lost his life just 5 years ago to a senseless shooting by a stray bullet. In pursuit of justice, and to get the message out to end gun violence, Hendricks' mother, Eve Hendricks took to creating Brandon Hendricks Community Fun Day - an annual event held on what would be Brandon's 22nd birthday geared toward creating a safe space for the youth. "Let today be a day you'll never ever ever forget,” says Eve. "It’s my son Brandon ‘BDiddy's’ 22nd birthday; happy birthday son, I love you and I miss you." Participants coming to the event enjoyed music, food, cotton candy treats, a jump in a bouncy house, and best of all, a safe space to enjoy time off the streets. Organizations against gun violence like Guns Down, Life Up also participated in the event, in hopes to provide support and guidance for families in need. "Intervention, prevention and community organization are the 3 components of our gun violence cure violence program" says June Balloon, a Guns Down Life Up Community Outreach worker. "And that's what were here to do and just continuing being a part of the community." Also playing a pivotal role in the Bronx community and in attendance were Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson and Bronx County District Attorney Darcel Clark. Clark took time to speak with News 12, mentioning her successful efforts in getting Hendricks' murderer, Najhim Luke, sentenced to 25-years to life for manslaughter just 3 months ago. "I stood by his family and told them that we would get justice for Brandon and it took 4 years, but Najhim Luke was convicted this year and sentenced to the maximum sentence." Eve Hendricks hopes that event's like these will continue to shine a light on gun violence in the community and eventually put an end to it. "