Once again,
a small group of neighbors gathered after a shattering act of violence to talk
about how to save their children.
The Public
Safety Committee of the 19th Ward Community Association met last night — two
days after a triple homicide on Chili Avenue. The Rochester Police Department
has been uncharacteristically reserved about the crime, waiting two days to
confirm the victims’ identities.
Wayne
Harris, commander of the RPD’s west patrol office, said the neighborhood has
nothing to fear as a result of the incident.
“What
happened was meant to happen right there,” he said, declining further detail.
Residents
at last night’s meeting also wanted to know how the RPD plans to prevent
violence in the area of Chili Avenue and Thurston Road this spring and summer.
Conflict between two rival street groups made for a tumultuous summer in the
neighborhood last year.
“There was
a period of time we provided for our young people,” one woman said. “We are not
providing for them. We, as adults, have failed.”
Harris said
that youth seem quicker to resort to violence than he’s seen at any point
during his long career.
He said
that part of the solution is reaching youth when they’re still in elementary
school. By the time they’re in their teens, he said, it’s often too late.
One man, a
cab driver in the City of Rochester, said much of the responsibility for
solving these problems starts at home. Their sons are the ones shooting each
other, he said. And their daughters are dating some of these guys, he said.
“Parents,
take back your home,” he said. “Take back your kids.”
He repeated
it as a chant as he left the room.
This article appears in Feb 26 – Mar 4, 2014.
