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'It's much deeper' | Youth advocates renew push for outreach after yet another youth-involved shooting in Charlotte

Groups are working to curb such incidents with outreach.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department is asking for help finding people involved in a shooting that injured a baby and a teenager. 

The shooting involved a 19-year-old and a 15-year-old reportedly exchanging gunfire with a car that pulled up beside them. Police say the 19-year-old's bullets hit the 15-year-old in the leg and grazed a 1-year-old baby that was in the car with them.

This shooting is just the latest in the city that involves young people and young victims. Battling this has become a large undertaking.

RELATED: 1-year-old, 15-year-old injured when shots fired between cars on Independence Blvd

“Every nonprofit, activist, organization is out there right there pounding the streets," said Earl Owens III with Genesis Project 1.

Owens said he’s found the kids aren’t solely to blame.

"It's much deeper than kids just out there running around with pistols," he said. 

Rather, he believes the answers can be found in the young adults surrounding them.

“They're being motivated and coerced and encouraged to act in these ways,” Owens said.

Along with this shooting involving two teens, CMPD has arrested three 21-year-olds for a recent drive-by shooting that ended with a 3-year-old killed. CMPD said that altercation was connected to high schoolers.

RELATED: 3rd suspect in shooting of 3-year-old in custody without bond

"These children that are out here, they are lost," Bernel Berry, the founder of the organization 1Love, said.

Berry said parents may be trying their best, especially with current economic hardships.

"Keep in mind mom and dad, with the way the prices are going now, they're working time and a half out here," Berry said.

Berry said he's recently passed out flyers advertising his hotline teens can call in to vent and get some issues off of their chest, along with connecting them with more resources. 1Love's Facebook page shares when the hotline is active.

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"If a kid or a teenager is going through something we have resources we can connect teenagers to," Berry said.

Owens said he along with the Mecklenburg Council of Elders are now hosting activities for young people at the Plaza Road Academy gym, located off The Plaza near East W.T. Harris Boulevard.

"They’ve created a space for young people to go to take their mind away from what's going on in the streets," Owens said.

Berry said 1Love and CMPD are joining together to host a gun safety and awareness drive on Sunday, Sept. 26. They also are passing out free gun locks so adults can keep their guns out of the wrong hands.

Contact Lana Harris at lharris@wcnc.com and follow her on FacebookTwitter and on Instagram.

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