HAZELWOOD, Mo. - "The level of violence is traumatic to watch," said James Clark Vice President of Public Safety & Community Response at Urban League St. Louis, "but not surprising."
Clark joined Total Information AM Monday to talk about the video shared widely on social media of an after-school fight near Hazelwood East where a girl was critically injured. "This is something I wish that I could un-see," Clark said, referring to the viral video.
A 15-year-old girl was arrested a day after the fight on Saturday by St. Louis County Police Department. She is facing a felony assault charge. The injured girl is still in critical condition after he head was smashed into the street three times.
"This is a glimpse into the mentality that is growing amongst our young people," Clark said. "We have a growing number of young people who are getting caught up in a culture of crime, violence, and just overall anti-social behavior. Every three to six months, there's a new dare and a new spoke that is put on this anti-social wheel. We have really got to be able to break out of our silos and really begin to engage families at the neighborhood level."
"We can stem this but it's going to take us being active in the neighborhoods. It is going to take us to identify the families that need the help the most and providing those families with intense, wrap-around, resource delivery."
