An open letter to Mayor Reed Gusciora and the Trenton City Council

Dear Mayor Gusciora and Members of the City Council,

My name is Nancy, and I am Corey McNair’s grandmother.

I am writing this because my heart is heavy.

Last weekend, my grandson was at a friend’s home on Locust Street when the shooting started. People were shot, and two people lost their lives.

Corey was off duty. He could have left. He could have stayed inside and let somebody else handle it. But he didn’t.

He went outside and helped. He got into an ambulance and drove two people who had been shot to the hospital.

That is my grandson. He sees somebody hurting, and he tries to help.

But what hurts me is that my grandson’s actions have been criticized by some people, including some in your administration. And nobody from the Mayor’s administration has even called him to ask, “Corey, are you okay?” Nobody asked if he is sleeping or how he is feeling after seeing what he saw. Not one phone call.

As his grandmother, that breaks my heart.

When Corey told me he wanted to become a Trenton police officer, I didn’t want him to do it. I was scared for him. I knew the dangers.

I helped raise this young man. I scraped together what I had when times were hard to make sure he was okay. So when I hear gunshots and know my grandson is running toward them, I don’t see Detective McNair. I see my grandson. I see the little boy I helped raise.

And this isn’t the first time. At Art All Night, Corey helped a young man who had been shot in the head and got him to the hospital. That young man lived. Mayor Gusciora, you gave Corey an award for that.

So I have to ask you: What is different now?

Is it because Corey is running for Mayor? Because if Corey wasn’t running for Mayor, I know he still would have done the same thing. That’s just who he is. He wasn’t thinking about politics or votes. He was thinking about saving somebody’s life.

I wish the people running this city understood what it feels like to be a grandmother watching her grandson put his life on the line. There are mothers and grandmothers all over Trenton who know exactly what I mean.

Corey matters. Not because he is a candidate. Not because he is a police detective. He matters because he is somebody’s grandson. He is mine.

Mayor Gusciora, I voted for you because of my grandson. But after everything that happened, I don’t have anything else for you.

I just wish somebody from City Hall would have picked up the phone and said two simple words: “Thank you.”

That would have meant a lot to this grandmother.

Sincerely,

Nancy

A Loving Grandmother from Trenton