COLUMBIA, S.C. — Elected officials, law enforcement, educators, activists, and more came together Tuesday to discuss the urgency around adolescent gun and gang violence.
They were brought together by the Wiley Kennedy Foundation, a community outreach group.
Wiley Kennedy Foundation Executive Director Gwendolyn Singletary said something has to be done now, especially after the death of three teens in September.
"But when these young men were killed, when four young men were shot and three died, we said we can't wait any longer," Singletary said. So that was the call to make us go, 'Okay, let's start this process now."
The urgency to have the meeting resulted in the framework for a 90-day plan for action, according to Richland County Council Member Gretchen Barron.
"And in this 90-day plan, it will have specific activities and meetings. And meetings that will take place," Barron said.
While the plan's framework has been created, the specifics still have to be developed in the coming weeks.
One key goal will be to better inform and educate the community on the resources available to hopefully decrease youth violence.
Linda Maxwell is a family friend of 16-year-old Jakobe Fanning, one of the teens killed in late September.
While Maxwell was not at Tuesday's meeting, she said there also needs to be a change in officials and law enforcement's dialogue with young people.
"You can't just walk up to the citizen and ask questions about what happened. It's not what you say, it's how you say it," Maxwell said. "At the end of the day, they are leaving and going home, but those people got to face those people that probably committed the crime."
With the desire for more law enforcement in high crime areas being something Maxwell wants, the community as a whole continues to collectively brainstorm and develop initiatives that will help the overall problem.
And while some might disagree on the 90-day approach, Fifth Circuit Solicitor Byron Gipson, whose job it is to prosecute crimes in the area, says there's one goal everyone should have in common.
"But in the end of the day, it's to save lives. It's to save children's lives," Gipson said. "So, that's what it's about. It's not about me, It's not about the sheriff's department or the City of Columbia. It's about our children. And we all need to just take stock of that and just continue to let that be our guiding."