Local leaders, police and community advocates are once again brainstorming solutions to gun violence following a violent Fourth of July night at The Banks. Five people were shot in Smale Park following fireworks. All of them were teenagers. Two were killed and one is in critical condition. Local leaders have suggested ideas ranging from enforcing a curfew for youth to increased police patrols in hot spots or more personal accountability in the community.Many agree that short-term fixes are not solving the problem. "It's gotten younger and younger," said Dr. O'Dell Owens, referring to the age of shooting victims and suspects.Owens is a trusted voice in the Cincinnati area and beyond, a pioneer in medicine, former Hamilton County coroner and former Cincinnati State Technical and Community College president, to name a few."It always starts with poverty — poverty because you have people who are living in condensed, concentrated areas where there's no tomorrow," he said. "What saddens me is that we're creating a culture where kids feel it's okay to shoot someone to handle your beef."Owens said the family unit, community, education system, police and city leaders all play an important role in preventing gun violence. "I do believe strongly that if a problem is in the community, then the solution is in the community," he said. "Certainly it should be no blame game. It should be coming together and saying ok, let's check off the box. What are we doing for poverty? How well are we supporting preschool promise... How are we supporting these kids when they're in the school?"Rev. Damon Lynch III, the pastor of New Prospect Baptist Church, said the violence weighs heavy on his heart. He often leads the funerals for gun violence victims and sees the pain violence inflicts beyond the victim."It impacts me greatly," he said. "They'll be two more parents sitting on the front row of somebody's church burying their child. Other parents may end up watching their child go to jail, so it impacts the black community. It impacts our survival and our ability to thrive."Lynch is holding a community conversation on gun violence Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at New Prospect Baptist Church. "This should be just the first of many conversations," he said. "There is no overnight fix. It's gonna take about a decade to raise up another generation of young people who love life, love themselves and love each other."
Local leaders, police and community advocates are once again brainstorming solutions to gun violence following a violent Fourth of July night at The Banks.
Five people were shot in Smale Park following fireworks. All of them were teenagers. Two were killed and one is in critical condition.
Local leaders have suggested ideas ranging from enforcing a curfew for youth to increased police patrols in hot spots or more personal accountability in the community.
Many agree that short-term fixes are not solving the problem.
"It's gotten younger and younger," said Dr. O'Dell Owens, referring to the age of shooting victims and suspects.
Owens is a trusted voice in the Cincinnati area and beyond, a pioneer in medicine, former Hamilton County coroner and former Cincinnati State Technical and Community College president, to name a few.
"It always starts with poverty — poverty because you have people who are living in condensed, concentrated areas where there's no tomorrow," he said. "What saddens me is that we're creating a culture where kids feel it's okay to shoot someone to handle your beef."
Owens said the family unit, community, education system, police and city leaders all play an important role in preventing gun violence.
"I do believe strongly that if a problem is in the community, then the solution is in the community," he said. "Certainly it should be no blame game. It should be coming together and saying ok, let's check off the box. What are we doing for poverty? How well are we supporting preschool promise... How are we supporting these kids when they're in the school?"
Rev. Damon Lynch III, the pastor of New Prospect Baptist Church, said the violence weighs heavy on his heart. He often leads the funerals for gun violence victims and sees the pain violence inflicts beyond the victim.
"It impacts me greatly," he said. "They'll be two more parents sitting on the front row of somebody's church burying their child. Other parents may end up watching their child go to jail, so it impacts the black community. It impacts our survival and our ability to thrive."
Lynch is holding a community conversation on gun violence Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at New Prospect Baptist Church.
"This should be just the first of many conversations," he said. "There is no overnight fix. It's gonna take about a decade to raise up another generation of young people who love life, love themselves and love each other."
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