Mayor Gainey Calls For Community To Come Together To End Uptick In Violence
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey is begging the community to come together to put an end to the uptick of violent crime in the city.
Just steps away from where a 15-year-old boy was fatally shot, Cassandra Paul's pain boiled over on Thursday.
"This child who was dead on these streets last night has stayed in my house with my 11-year-old grandson," Paul said. "How do I tell him his friend is dead?"
Paul is the mother of a victim of gun violence. Someone killed her 19-year-old son in 2007 in Homewood.
"Every child that ya'll been talking about in the last week that have been murdered is close to my heart. I have babysat this child," Paul said.
The latest victim, 15-year-old Dayvon Vickers, was the 18th person gunned down in Pittsburgh over the past three months. The numbers are up from the same period last year, and non-fatal shooting numbers are also tracking higher so far in 2022.
George Spencer walks the streets for Mad Dads, and he said if you're afraid to speak up, call him.
"I'm 66 coming up on 67 and if my voice can be what makes a difference on holding people accountable for killing a 15-year-old, call me," the national president for Mad Dads said.
Mayor Gainey echoed that same message Thursday.
"If you know something, please say something," Gainey said. "Somebody lost a 15-year-old."
Gainey said he is committed and needs people to keep pushing.
"The only way we are going to be able to solve some of this is if we begin to talk to one another," Gainey said. "And I know we started that, I know the community has been dialoging. But we have to continue."
