BUFFALO (WBEN) - Increasing gun violence has dominated the spotlight in Buffalo for several weeks, as community members, local leaders, and law enforcement have all expressed concern about a year that is on pace to be the most violent in the history of the city.
On Wednesday evening, Erie County District Attorney John Flynn and US Attorney JP Kennedy met with concerned residents to try to figure out ways to use resources to halt the shootings that have taken place over the last several weeks and months.
"I think it was a very productive session," said Kennedy, as the community discussion was organized in part due to the recent creation of the VIPER task force, a 60-day initiative unveiled last week by US Attorney JP Kennedy which will increase police resources to get guns and the most violent offenders off the streets.
"In order to stop this violence we really do need the help of the good and decent people that live in these communities that are so desperately impacted by the gun violence," Kennedy said. "According to CDC data, compared to their counterparts of white males ages 18 to 34, Black males are 20 times more likely to die from a firearm. It's really a sobering statistic."
Several dozen members of the community, as well as representatives from various law enforcement and Stop the Violence Coalition were in attendance for the meeting.
"On a macro level, it's always good to get the community's input," said Flynn. "I don't have all the answers; JP doesn't have all the answers; law enforcement doesn't have all the answers, so a lot of times the answers come from the community. When I hear that, and I get that input, that helps me do a better job."
"We want to change the narrative about how we're dealing with violence," said Pastor James Giles, a community organizer and member of Stop the Violence Coalition. "We believe that we are in a gun-demic much like the pandemic. We have far, far too many guns on our city streets....We want to begin to change the narrative about not just finding the perpetrator and locking up the individual, but how do we take the guns off the street that are already there? How do we stop the trafficking and stop the flow?"
Over July 4th weekend alone, 13 separate shooting incidents resulted in more than 20 victims, including a 3-year-old boy who was shot and killed while watching fireworks.
