Family reveals consequences of violence

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - They have crusaded against street violence that's taken a terrible toll in Buffalo. Now, the family of Joseph Washington wants you to see the consequences of a random deadly act. And we warn you, the pictures are not pretty.

Nona Holman, daughter of the victim, said, "The streets talk."

And Nona the word on the streets is that it was teenagers trying to get into a gang who killed her father as he sat talking with friends last Saturday behind a gas station at Main and Glenwood.

"Some type of gang initiation or something and they were randomly shooting into the crowd and didn't care who they hit," said Nona.

They hit 60-year-old Joseph Washington, a grandfather to 26 people, and the father-in-law of Murray Holman. Murray and Nona's family van is a bus that says "Stop the Violence," and Murray heads up Buffalo's Stop the Violence coalition.

"And he would see the bus go by and say, "That's my son driving the bus,"" said Murray.

In fact, the day of the murder, Murray was planning to escort Randy Sargent for part of his walk to Washington to bring attention to street violence.

Murray said, "If I save one little kid, then I have conquered the battle."

But the Holman's do want to try something new. They've asked News 4 to show pictures of Joseph in the hospital where he survived for days after the shooting.

"My children have to remember their grandfather pictured from being shot in the head looking like a monster. It needs to be shown because the reason why I think people do what they do is because they don't know what they're doing. He was known as "Uncle Vern" on the streets. Now maybe somebody will say something because they see what somebody really did to Uncle Vern," explained Nona.

Anyone with information on who shot Joseph Washington is asked to call 847-2255. Murray Holman's son now plans to join up soon with Randy Sargent for part of his 40 day walk to Washington, D.C.