Local cure-violence groups and elected officials rallied in Canarsie on Sunday to protest the murder of 19-year-old Christian Josiah Montrose, who was fatally shot outside of his home in what police are calling a case of mistaken identity.
Authorities say Montrose, who lived with his family in Canarsie, was exiting his car just feet away from their East 104th Street home at about 2:40 a.m. on March 19 when a yet-to-be-identified individual pulled up in a black Acura and shot him.
Montrose was shot several times in the mouth and stomach before he was able to stumble inside his house, as seen in surveillance camera footage. Emergency medical services responded and rushed Montrose to Brookdale University Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.
According to the Police Department, preliminary investigations have indicated that Montrose had no previous criminal records and also had no known gang affiliations. His mother, Annette Montrose, told Brooklyn Paper on Tuesday that her son did not take drugs and had never drank alcohol.
“I remember it was my birthday not too long ago and I said to him ‘Come drink a glass of wine with me’ and he said ‘No mommy I have to work tomorrow and what if they give me a drug test and it comes positive for alcohol?’ and that’s just who he was,” Annette said.
The Easter Sunday rally was organized by The Flossy Organization — a community-based violence intervention group dedicated to ending gun violence. The organization is part of the Cure Violence campaign, a model that seeks to prevent — or interrupt — violence before it can occur by utilizing local community members and mental health resources.
Jibreel Jalloh, founder and president of The Flossy Organization, said Montrose’s murder indicates that the status quo of addressing gun violence in Brooklyn and across the country is continuing to fail.
“People who may have been justice involved themselves or who are from the community are hired to do the work connecting youth [who are] maybe at risk of perpetrating violence to resources, mentorships, job opportunities and it’s a proven method,” Jalloh told Brooklyn Paper. “The city’s own data showed that from at least 2010 to 2019, communities or [police] precincts with Cure Violence sites saw a 40% reduction in shootings.”
Canarsie Council Member Mercedes Narcisse also attended Sunday’s rally to support Montrose’s family, and to advocate for stricter gun legislation.
“As seen by the outpouring of support at the Easter rally, the community grieves with the Montrose family, and stands with them in their calls for justice and the need to fully fund anti-gun violence initiatives and make no budget cuts that threaten public safety,” she said. “I am committed to supporting their efforts in every appropriate manner to help prevent any such senseless tragedies from occurring again. Our solidarity is unwavering, and together, we will strive to honor Christian’s memory by building a safer community for our young people.”
The rally was also held with the intention of calling upon elected officials like Mayor Eric Adams to invest in low-income, Black and Brown communities impacted by gun violence like Canarsie — which has seen two fatal shootings so far this year.
“We will continue to organize and advocate until we end gun violence in our community,” Jalloh said. “We’re demanding $1.8 million dollars for a fully funded cure violence site in Canarsie. The city budget is over $100 billion dollars – please tell us what is the value of a life saved if we can’t get $1.8 million for our community?”
Annette spoke to how her family has been uplifted by their community and local organizations since her son’s murder, and how the overwhelming support the family experienced at the rally and in their neighborhood was a testament to the kind of person Christian was.
“He was such a loving child, he’d see you struggling with a bag, he’d help you,” said Annette. “You know there’s so much people on this block that I don’t even know but they come and tell me about my son, saying as soon as my son saw people coming down from the bus, he would come and help them. That’s who he was.”
This story was last updated on April 3, 2024 at 1:46 p.m. to correct a spelling error.
