CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Mecklenburg County Board of Commissioners signed a proclamation on June 7, dedicating the month of June as "Gun Violence Awareness Month." This is on the heels of multiple mass shootings across the nation and gunfire ringing out across the Carolinas.
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"As of April 30, 1,299 cases of aggravated assault with a gun were reported this year," Commissioner Mark Jerrell said. "The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department determined that guns were involved in nearly 70% of all aggravated assault cases and 82% in [killings] from 2016 to 2021.”
Members of the community took to the podium thanking the commission for the symbolic proclamation, but are seeking solutions in form of action. A father who lost his son to gun violence in 2019 said more needs to be done on prevention.
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“When you consider the amount of money being spent, after the fact, if we can spend 25% before the fact, it would save a family to go through what I went through," the father said.
Ira Lawrence, the founder of Bunk 57 Ministries, said curbing gun violence comes down to enforcing education early on.
“When you wake up in the morning it’s always who shot who, who robbed who," Lawrence said. “It should be something we learn in an elementary school, those are the times we should be preparing.”
Contact Austin Walker at awalker@wcnc.com and follow him on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.