FORT WORTH (1080 KRLD)- Community leaders in Fort Worth say they hope to develop closer relationships with police to try to reduce violence in a neighborhood where six people were shot this week. Police say the victims of the shooting on Las Vegas Trail were between three and 19 years old.
"It breaks my heart," says Rev. Kyev Tatum Sr., pastor of New Mount Rose Baptist Church in Fort Worth. "First, I heard about the young woman who was stabbed at Kroger, and then this happened, and I found out there was a three year old child involved. It just broke my heart because it was just a flashback to 'here we go again.'"
In summer of 2023, Tatum says 30 young people were shot within 30 days in Fort Worth.
After the shooting Wednesday, Fort Worth Police Chief Neil Noakes said, "It makes me angry. I am mad. I am pissed off."
"We don't need him pissed off," Tatum says. "We need him prayed up and prepared and planning for preventing these things from happening."
Tatum works with the nonprofit, Clergy for Safe Cities. The group includes preachers who try to prevent gun violence by providing mentorship and community involvement for young people.
"When those kids are youthful and give signs of going down the wrong way, that's the perfect time for the police department to have conversations with those pastors in these neighborhoods and say, 'We need to get him in a mentor program before we lose him,'" he says.
Tatum says pastors will spot kids who might be at risk or do not have a strong role model at home.
"It's not like it's rocket science. It's not as if we don't know the process of how these kids become bad characters," he says. "It doesn't start all of a sudden. It's something that's been building up."
He says Fort Worth Police have an "us versus them" mentality now, but he would like to work more closely with the department so kids can develop stronger relationships. Tatum says a closer partnership would help clergy provide "wrap-around" services so kids can build social skills and learn skills that will help them build a career as adults.
Fort Worth Police did not respond to questions about building relationships with clergy or community groups.
The department does say crime has been dropping around Las Vegas Trail. Fort Worth Police say they responded to 53 reports of crimes against persons in March 2023 and just 32 cases in March 2024.
City Councilman Michael Crain stopped in the neighborhood Thursday. He said the city still has "more work to do," but he said Fort Worth has invested in technology and other tools to reduce crime in the neighborhood. Crain said the shooting this week did not match a trend of crime reduction in the area.
Fort Worth Police have not made any arrests in the shooting.
Saturday, Tatum will host a baseball and softball event called "Pitch, Hit and Run over Bullets and Guns" at Gateway Park east of Downtown Fort Worth. The event starts at noon, and kids ages seven to 14 are invited to participate. Tatum says the event can show kids the advantage of building friendships and community.
"Put a bat and ball in your hand, not a gun with bullets," he says. "That's something intentional. You have to be intentional in order to be proactive instead of reactive."
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