Mike Vaz event to help raise awareness of domestic violence

CHICOPEE, Mass. (WWLP) - The First Annual Mike Vaz Celebrity and Community Domestic Violence Awareness Event will be held Saturday March 23rd at the High School of Commerce in Springfield. 

The event is named after Mike Vaz, a star football and basketball player, indeed one of the greatest athletes in the history of high school sports in Western Massachusetts.

Vaz was shot during what police say was murder-suicide in Springfield on February 8. Vaz’s friend Julie Treadwell died after 27 year-old Anthony Brown, the father of her children, allegedly shot her and Vaz, then turned the gun on himself. Vaz survived, and is recovering at a rehab center in Boston, but is suffering from paralysis.

To draw attention to domestic violence, organizers have put together the Mike Vaz Celebrity and Community Domestic Violence Awareness Event, which will take place at the High School of Commerce from 1:00 P.M. to 5:00 P.M. on Saturday, March 23.

Warren Barnett, a great football player in his own right at Central High School, helped organize the event, and spoke with 22News anchor Rich Tettemer about it on Monday.