CLEVELAND — Edwins Leadership & Restaurant Institute, local activists, pastors and community members gathered Thursday morning outside Edwins’ location on Buckeye Road to talk about recent deadly shootings and ways to better connect with youth and show them the benefits of living a positive, violence-free life.
The gathering came in the wake of Monday afternoon’s deadly shooting that took the life of 17-year-old Jaiden Tunson of Shaker Heights. He was shot on Buckeye Road, across the street from Edwins.
That day, Edwins’ founder and CEO, Chef Brandon Chrostowski, spoke to News 5 and issued a call to action.
“We have to do something about it. And our response to it is we do a better job of being mentors, we do a better job of inviting people into our establishment to train and to teach,” Chrostowski said. “Enough is enough. We’re mobilizing a team. We’re looking to offer classes for youth, immediately.”
On Thursday, Chrostowski and other community members announced a new four-week cooking course for youth ages 13 to 17.
“You'll receive basic culinary training… most importantly you're going to receive this-- a family,” Chrostowski said. “Mentors like Art (McKoy, founder of Black on Black Crime Inc.) or ways to deal with grief and just the psychology of these streets.”
Chrostowski added, “The idea is to bring a family to those who think there's no other option. And beyond this, we have over 20 employers who have said we'll hire the graduates of that program from Edison's Pizza to Gervasi, Orlando Baking, Cedar Creek Grill. I mean the list goes on and on and on.”
The goal is to break the cycle of violence through investment and mentoring. Antonio Edwards is enrolled in Edwins’ nationally acclaimed adult training program. He attended Thursday’s announcement.
"What we got right here is just not no ordinary program,” Edwards said. “This is a family."
Edwards said he lost a friend to gun violence last week.
“I'm still here,” Edwards said. “It's impacting me a lot, but the decisions I’m choosing to make is best for me."
Also in attendance was Charlotte Thomas. Her son, Johnathan Bradley, was killed in Cleveland Heights last week.
“I never wanted to stand here and have to do this,” Thomas said through tears. “This is my greatest fear. It just keeps happening. What they took, no amount of money… there's nothing that can replace the love that my son gave me.”
Police continue to investigate all of the cases, and no suspects have been apprehended.
"We're demanding. We're demanding that these scoundrels be found... we're demanding that," McKoy said. "We're not asking; we're demanding because we cannot allow our young people to be killed like this and murders go unsolved. It only means more murders go unsolved."
In relation to Tunson's case, the Cleveland Police Department said in a statement, "The Cleveland Division of Police Homicide Unit is actively investigating this crime. We are committed to identifying those responsible for this young man’s death. Our focus remains on thoroughly pursuing every available lead, developing the facts, and building a strong, evidence-based case for prosecution."
Thomas said it’s time for families to get back to the basics.
“We have to unplug these kids from all of this social media-- all of these games,” Thomas said. “This is not Fortnite. This is not Call of Duty. Once the child's life is taken it's gone forever!”
A GoFundMe has been setup to to help Bradley's family with funeral and other expenses.
Fred Ward, executive director of The Khnemu Foundation, called the violence unacceptable and a wake-up call to families, members of the community, politicians and organizations.
“It's a pandemic. It's a crisis," Ward said. “We got, you know, violence interrupters. We got so many different programs going on in this city that's trying to do good. We got to do more! Cleveland ain’t poor. We got to start reinvesting, and we got to do more.”
Chrostowski isn’t giving up and is asking others not to give in either.
“This isn't just a course you come to get a piece of paper certificate, and that's it,” Chrostowski said. “There's a genuine way to change a life right now. I can’t do it alone, though; I can't. That's why everyone's here today."
To learn more about the new four-week cooking course for youth, call Edwins at 216-921-3333, visit its website or stop by the business at 13024 Buckeye Road.
Damon Maloney is a Cuyahoga County and We Follow Through anchor at News 5 Cleveland. Follow him on X @DMaloneyTV, on Facebook DamonMaloneyTV or email him at Damon.Maloney@wews.com.
