Concerned Residents Speak With DA Seth Williams At Anti-Gun Town Hall Meeting
By Tim Jimenez
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Concerned residents of a West Philadelphia community met with District Attorney Seth Williams and police officials for a town hall meeting on gun violence Wednesday night.
D.A. Seth Williams, born and bred in Cobbs Creek, spoke to dozens of residents at St. Cyprian Church who dealing with 14 shootings, nine fatal, over the past two months in their neighborhood.
"And you never saw that rate of gun violence in this part of West Philadelphia so that's why it was so alarming. That's why we thought something had to be done," Williams said.
Too many guns on the streets, and much of the violence connected to drugs, according to Williams. So he and police officials told the crowd to share information with cops and help those in their own lives.
"I don't need everybody jumping on the drug dealers. But for every drug dealer we have about 50-60 drug users. Help us get people into rehab. Help us stop people from buying the drugs. That will significantly reduce the gun violence."
Julia Chinn, an active member of the community, called it a productive meeting and is hoping it would lead help lead to safer streets.
"We talk about the things that take place here. But you can't stay home and talk about it, you got to come out and be a part of it. You're either part of the problem or your part of the solution."
