Pine Bluff residents react to recent homicides among youth

PINE BLUFF, Ark. – The city of Pine Bluff is continuing to fight to come up with a solution to a recent string of violence that involves many teenagers.

14 people's lives have been ended from a bullet this year in Pine Bluff and at least 8 were under the age of 19.

Friday, the police department held a press conference to address the matter.

Parents and family members of homicide victims were in attendance.

Pine Bluff Police Chief Denise Richardson started the press conference with updates on 5 homicides that date back to May 7th up until the most recent double homicide from Sunday July 16th.

Out of just these 5 shootings, six victims were 17 and younger with the youngest being 14 years old.

In these investigations, 8 suspects have been arrested, all of them age under the age of 21.

Police Chief Denise Richardson was joined by prosecuting attorney, Kyle Hunter and Mayor Shirley Washington.

The Mayor said that everybody has a role to play in putting a dent in the violence.

Washington also mentioned the Group Violence Intervention program that was prompted by multiple city leader traveling to Pennsylvania to learn their methods on reducing crime.

She says that the program is up and running and will include more jobs, work force training, mentors and mental health training to help with the crime issue at hand.

Prosecution attorney Hunter said that many of the shootings stems from gang retaliation.

"These retaliations that you are seeing are loosely organized groups that involve people that are associated by maybe neighborhoods are ages."

Several family members of homicide victims were present including Sherry Surveyor whose 18-year-old daughter was killed in March.

Her question to city leaders is "how many children have to die in Pine Bluff?"

Surveyor's daughter's killer hasn't been caught.

"It's been that many murders that everybody in this city needs some counseling," Surveyor said.

As families of homicide victims in attendance want justice and or all the violence to stop, Chief Richardson says understanding the category of youth to target is key going forward.

"We have to positively identify our youth, at risk youth and high-risk youth. I think for a long time we have put them all in one category."

from KARK https://ift.tt/1sHpP3g