Seeing bullets in his Davis Street home in Syracuse isn’t unfamiliar to Richard Webb. He said he had four bullets fired into his home during a shooting at a street party earlier this month.
“My family’s life is in danger every time they try to do this, and it’s not worth it," Webb said. “It’s just gotta stop.”
Hundreds of people were at the block party on the west side of Syracuse before it turned violent.
“I was in the house watching TV because I was waiting for something to jump off," Webb said. “Last year, they had three; first two were OK. Then they tried a third one and I was like ‘oh no, this is not gonna work.’ ”
"These are happening, just so you know, every weekend at various parts of the city," said Joe Cecile, the chief of the Syracuse Police Department.
For decades, Syracuse has been affected by gun violence. A RIT study homicide rates of 24 major U.S. cities put Syracuse between Chicago and Newark with 19.6 homicides per 100,000 population.
"Their parents need to start taking more participation in their kids’ life," Webb said. "You guys know what your kids are doing.”
Lateef Johnson-Kinsey, the city's director of the office to reduce gun violence, said he believes the main cause of violence in Syracuse is conflict between gangs and groups of young people. He proposed the Syracuse Safer Streets program to show them resources and alternatives they don’t have.
“It’s good to have mentors and case managers and cognitive behavioral therapy, people that can actually do therapy, because I think a lot of the individuals need therapy," said Johnson-Kinsey. "They’ve been traumatized themselves by situations at a young age."
“From East Coast to West Coast, it’s working," said Jawwaad Rasheed, the chief accountability officer of the Syracuse Police Department. "That’s what I would tell people: Do the research, find out what the program is really about. It's not about paying people to be good. It’s about transformation, changing the lives of people who didn’t know any other way.”
“Put down the guns and stop this madness," said Webb. "Life is short and it's a beautiful thing. Why end it that quickly?"