Youth gun violence in San Mateo County prompts discussion

There has been a lot of gun violence in San Mateo County in California resulting in the deaths of many youth. Because of the increase of violence and gang activity, new discussions are occurring about a solution. The linked article says this:

While homicide rates in San Mateo County have been relatively stable in recent years, government and law enforcement officials in the county are concerned about pockets of violence and the influence of youth gangs. In South San Francisco, shootings involving teenagers and young adults are “definitely on the high side, with gang involvement going up in recent years,” said city police Detective Ken Chetcuti.

“We had gone through a couple years with zero homicides,” he said, and then in December 2010, “there was a triple homicide. And we have had two more since then,” each involving youths.

There is also a financial and emotional toll on the community, as the article goes on:

“We are trying to stop this.

We can’t do it alone,” Gonzalez said. “Police on every block can’t do it. Families have to do their part.”

As for Aysha Haq, she’s trying to do her part as she fights through the grief of losing a son. “It’s a difficult time, but I gotta look at it this way: If I continue to fight and if I can make one person’s life better, it will be worth it,” she said. “The more people that fight with us, the better chances we will have to prevent someone else’s kid from getting shot.

Youth gun violence is preventable with reasonable community conversations.