Tamani Turner, 18, third teen killed in Mount Vernon homicide in 2023
MOUNT VERNON, N.Y. -- So far, there have been three homicides in Mount Vernon this year. The victim was a teenager each time.
The community is reacting to deadly violence following the shooting of an 18-year-old less than a month after a 14-year-old was killed.
"To watch a mother or a father experience the loss of their child, to see blood on the streets of our children, is devastating," said Mayor Shawyn Patterson-Howard.
According to the mayor, 18-year-old Tamani Turner was fatally shot just a few yards from where he and his family live.
It happened early Thursday afternoon near Garden Avenue and East 4th Street - a generally quiet section of the city with well-kept homes.
"Of course we are scared. We have kids, so we are scared. This is a nice neighborhood and we're all devastated," said Natalia Trowler, a resident.
It's the third slaying of a Mount Vernon teenager this year.
Sergey Tonkovid, 19, was stabbed to death on Feb. 11. Zyaire Fernandez, 14, was shot dead on March 9. Turner was dead after being shot twice in the torso.
"The community needs to step up. The police, they mayor, everybody needs to step up because this is horrible," said Towler.
"Access to guns is one of the biggest problems that we have. Mental health is a challenge. Some of the culture and things that our young people engage in, it's challenging," said Patterson-Howard.
The mayor said the city will continue to explore ways to reduce violence.
Police said Friday that 33-year-old Akeem Grant, of Mount Vernon, had been arrested in connection to Turner's murder.