BRADDOCK, Pa. — Leaders in the Mon Valley said the violence really ramped up in the last few weeks. They believe it is all tied to the death anniversary of two Woodland Hills seniors and don’t see it stopping without a conversation.
“There was a video put out showing some kids kicking over the memorial. Once that hit social media, it really sparked a fire in that ongoing issue between the sides,” said Lee Davis, who is the Director of Violence Prevention at Greater Valley.
It’s a fight between residents of two communities in the Mon Valley. Over the summer, those fights have started with car break-ins, to now houses being shot and the latest a homicide in Rankin.
“We’ve had quite a number of shots fired; a number of people being hit. Then we’ve had a number of people being approached with guns, namely young folks,” Davis said.
Those violent acts happening day and night are causing fear and renewed trauma for those who’ve already lost loved ones.
“I think it’s heartbreaking because I lost my son to gun violence and a 13-year-old boy shot and killed him. For me, it’s reliving it and knowing what the families are going through and what the families are feeling,” said Cathy Welsh, who lost her son to gun violence.
That’s why the Greater Valley Coalition Against Violence is holding an emergency meeting on Monday to engage the community, seek answers, and restore a sense of security to the streets.
“We don’t normalize our young people carrying guns, we don’t normalize our young people getting shot. This isn’t a reaction to what happened, it’s a continuance to our work,” Welsh said.
The goal coming out of the meeting is to have some short-term solutions to stop the bleeding and long-term plans to keep violence prevention going in these communities.
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