Gun violence prevention group speaks on deadly Ferguson gun battle

FERGUSON, Mo. - A 19-year-old is dead and another is in custody after reports of a gun battle near Schnucks in Ferguson. 

"It's getting ridiculous. Everyday you hear of someone, and the age is getting lower and lower and lower," Connie Johnson said. 

Johnson and others met up on Monday as part of the non-profit Breaking Generational Poverty. Bonded by grief, their goal is to end gun violence.

Precious Jones founded the group. She and Johnson, among the others, have lost a child due to gun violence.

"I get calls almost daily, and it's heartbreaking. It makes me want to go even harder. I feel compelled to help. I feel compelled to be a voice," Jones said. 

The most recent example occurred Saturday when police responded to Shnucks. The probable cause statement says police found the victim in an abandoned vehicle a few blocks south near the intersection of South Florissant and Carson Roads.

That victim was later identified as 19-year-old Ramone-Kaleb Henderson. 

Court documents say the officer who found him then observed gunfire in their direction and had to take cover behind the vehicle.

Records say the suspect, 19-year-old Clarence Brown, admitted to setting up a robbery during a gun purchase and stealing a Glock 9 mm. Surveillance at the Schnucks shows Brown's vehicle following the victim of the armed robbery before an exchange of gunfire in the parking lot.

Brown is now charged with first-degree robbery and second-degree murder. 

"Here we are. Another family that has to walk in these shoes and join a group, a grief group, because they lost their child. That is crazy," Johnson said. 

Brown is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on Jan. 29. 

The investigation has now been handed over to the St. Louis County Police. They have no new information regarding the possibility of additional arrests as of Monday. 

If you want to learn more about the work of Breaking Generational Poverty, click here.