MILWAUKEE (WITI) — Gun violence has been on the minds of many in Milwaukee even before the incident at Children’s Hospital Thursday, November 14th. Police Chief Ed Flynn attended a morning summit aimed at finding ways to reduce crime-related shootings.
The man discussion revolved around the results of a survey handed out to dozens of Milwaukee teens. Pulaski High School student Isaiah Hale says he knows the repercussions of gun violence all too well.
“I lost a brother to gun violence at the age of 19 and, after that, I felt the need to get involved in my community because I don’t want to keep the system going on,” said Hale.
Organizers discussed the disturbing numbers — through October, there have been 71 gun-related homicides this year in Milwaukee. Officials say it’s important to bring in people who can illustrate those numbers.
“Data can describe the dimensions of a problem to us, but it’s stories that really put the human dimension to those data-driven, identified problems and that’s what we need to hear,” said Chief Flynn.
Raymond Rivera shared a story about his son, who was shot in the arm on Sunday night, November 10th.
“When it hits home, words cannot describe the fear and the shock, but it has also inspired me to become even more active as a parent and as a resident of Milwaukee to fight against gun violence,” said Rivera.
According to surveys within the last year, half of the teen respondents say they’ve seen another teen with a gun, 40% say they’ve seen someone threatened with a gun, and 36% say they’ve seen someone shot or shot at.
Hale hopes the numbers alone help teach others something he already knows.
“It’s okay to be the one that walks away, to be the bigger person due to gun violence,” said Hale.
Organizers admit the survey, which polled 168 teens, is a very small sample size — and they hope to get more students around Milwaukee to fill out the questionnaire, aiming for 600 participants by the end of the year
No comments:
Post a Comment