NEW YORK (PIX11) -- For “John,” a baby-faced 12-year-old from Brooklyn, New York, the streets often have more sway and influence than any positive role model - including his parents.

“There’s only like a few people that’s really my age that’s in my friend group. Then the rest is in, like, high school and stuff. Three of my friends been arrested before. Kids that’s like my age, like 13 and above, they like to carry guns, walk around, try to follow other people,” said John.

John is not his real name, part of PIX11's attempt to conceal his identity so he would feel comfortable enough to talk about the growing number of kids his age - who carry and use guns.

It's a troubling crisis unfolding in underserved neighborhoods across the New York Metro region.

“I never picked up a gun. The only time I i say would pick up a gun is if it’s self-defense,” John said.

And while John was sometimes evasive about his own experience with guns, his concerned father tells a different story.

When asked if he worries about his son, John’s father quickly responded, “Definitely.”

When asked if he thinks John has already picked up a gun.

“Honestly? Yes. I think it’s frightening,” he told PIX11 News.

He said he never thought he would need to be trying to save his son from the streets at 12 years old.

“Never, because from birth i tried to shield him from the things that’s going on in the neighborhood. Tried to teach him different. But somehow, the neighborhood has a way; they drag your kids into the environment we’re living in,” he said.

A landmark 2023 field study by the nonprofit Center for Justice Innovation included candid interviews with teens as young as 15 and shed new light on what’s happening on the street.

The study found that the average age for joining a gang is 14 years old, followed by a first arrest at 15 and the first time carrying a gun that same year.

Why are kids carrying and using guns? The teens told researchers that the number one reason for holding is for protection, out of fear, followed by maintaining their image—next, protection while hustling or dealing. And finally, there are pure “shooters” who pull the trigger to eliminate someone perceived as a threat.

Just as revealing, 85% of those questioned said a gang leader played a prominent role in their personal development.

Center for Justice Innovation Research Coordinator Basaime Spate says relationship building – an approach used in his fieldwork - is critical in the fight against street influencers who glorify guns.

“It’s social media, also drill music that plays a big part. Relationship building opens the door to vulnerability, to open the doors for these guys to be expressive about their real wants and needs,” said Spate.

Titus Smith, 20, also of Brooklyn, is a survivor of the gun-toting lifestyle that young John seems to be flirting with, and he vividly recalls that sense of power, leading to a world of pain.

“Guns were never like really off limits. I felt my first feeling of power,” said Smith.

Following an arrest for gun possession at the age of 15, two years later, he was shot and nearly killed.

But Titus has since turned his life around and is now a community leader and mentor with the anti-violence organization Man Up. He hopes his journey is a cautionary tale for young Black and Brown boys at a crossroads.

“Just say be yourself. Don’t go out there sticking your neck out trying to figure out who you are. In our neighborhoods, most people – they get one mistake - death or jail,” he said.

There are no easy answers to explain why kids are choosing to carry and use guns at younger ages.

But Man Up Founder and CEO A.T. Mitchell-Mann believes societal influence is a major factor.

“The fascination that surrounds it. The way that it’s marketed and promoted on television in video – and how communities see guns on a regular basis makes even the youngest members of our community interested in it. It’s what’s driving them closer toward it. We do a lot of counseling and mentoring. We want to make sure that the more we work with that young person and his or her family, the better chances we have.” said Mitchell-Mann. "In so many neighborhoods – including here in East New York, Brooklyn, the challenge of saving young black and brown kids from the streets and discouraging them from picking up a gun in the first place…continues to be a full-time job. and these days, that job starts in elementary school.”

At the Pink Houses Community Center in East New York, often cited as one of New York City’s most violent neighborhoods, program Director Nyron Jones believes his young charges must have a role model – who looks like them.

“I have been blessed with the opportunity to be positioned here specifically because I feel like a lot of the resources that we need in certain communities don’t’ exist like this,” said Jones.

Back on that public housing rooftop… 12-year-old John is well aware that his parents and the streets are engaged in a pitched battle for his future.

John is hoping to have a say in where it leads.

He says he wants to live somewhere else when he grows up.

“Yeah. i don’t know, but somewhere far away from here – ‘cause, to be away from the violence and stuff that’s happening,” said John.