Basketball tournament held on East Side to draw awareness to violence

SAN ANTONIO – A year after the shooting death of a teenager on the East Side, a city violence prevention program is hosting a basketball tournament Saturday evening to raise awareness about street violence.

Last year, less than a mile away from Martin Luther King Park, Tru Sincere Trusty was shot. He was a basketball player.

Standup SA, a Metro Health violence prevention program, and Well Respected International put together the tournament in Trusty’s memory and the memory of others who died violently across the city.

Trusty’s cousin said he hopes this will draw awareness and prevent violence on the East Side.

“It's not the tournament, it's the thought that you have a community and we are together. It's not so much stop the violence, but it kind of is that. We all come together,” said Dominic Sheppard, Trusty’s cousin.

Standup SA’s program manager said the organization proves services like conflict mediation and conflict resolution training. It also works with young people who are at risk for violence.