Philadelphia city council working to end gun violence following another mass shooting
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- City councilmember Kenyatta Johnson is continuing his series of roundtable discussions on gun violence.
It comes as the city deals with yet another mass shooting. Five people were shot Tuesday night in the city's Feltonville neighborhood.
Candles still burn in honor of Orlando Negron at the intersection of D Street and Wyoming Avenue in Feltonville.
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Negron was killed at the intersection on July 5.
On Tuesday night while friends and family gathered here for a vigil, they too became victims of violence. None of the victims were killed.
While CBS News Philadelphia's cameras saw multiple police in the area Wednesday, a gunshot victim from Tuesday night says he's frustrated that he rarely sees police on patrol.
"Kids get killed. Fathers got shot and now they're sitting there," the man said. "What are they going to sit there one day and we not going to see them anymore?"
As Feltonville grapples with this latest shooting, city council is trying to put an end to this gun problem.
Johnson led Wednesday's discussion on gun violence, but he let young people do most of the talking.
"A lot of the young people who carry guns because they think they have to," a young person said.
"If we're going to solve this issue, we need to talk to people who are most impacted and that's the young people here in Philadelphia," Johnson said.
So far this year, there have been 234 fatal shootings in the city. That's down 22% from this time last year.
But nearly 50% of victims in nonfatal shootings are 18 to 30 years old.
Charles Reeves has worked with young people in the city's Grays Ferry neighborhood for decades.
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"When you come out here, you got to be ready, you got to be strong, you go to listen, you got to love and then you also have to grow, create leaders," Reeves, of the Resident Action Committee, said.
One of the young people he's working with is John Saunders.
"I don't want to get into any trouble or have my mom want to grieve over me, so that's why I try to stay as safe as possible," Saunders said.
"These are the people that I want to save," Reeves said. "I want to create leaders. They are my babies. I love them. I love them."
Johnson says these discussions will continue.
