GREENSBORO, N.C. — Triad community and city leaders recently met to address preventing and responding to gun violence. 

What You Need To Know

  • Triad leaders met May 2 to discuss ways to prevent and respond to gun violence

  • The meeting centered on how to educate children about gun violence at an early age

  • Greensboro had 18 homicides this year by the start of May, two more than the same time period last year

City Help of the Triad, a nonprofit aimed at reducing crime and providing resources, hosted the event at Bethany Fellowship Church in Greensboro.

Residents, local law enforcement, nonprofit workers and faith leaders attended the event. 

They discussed how to help families after gun violence, as well as policy, advocacy, prevention and re-entry programs. 

But the focus of the meeting was reaching out to kids to educate them about gun violence at an early age.   

“Shooters are getting younger,” said Bethany Fellowship Church pastor Reginald Holiday. “Fourteen- and 15-year-olds are picking up guns, thinking that this is what you need to do to resolve a conflict,”

Holiday, who also serves as executive director of City Help of the Triad, said the organization is developing programming to help redirect young people away from violence. 

“We want to try to aim resources and people at young people 7 to 12 years old to train them in conflict resolution and anger management and those kinds of things,” Holiday said. 

Greensboro had recorded 18 homicides this year by the time of the meeting on May 2.