ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Mayor Malik Evans is trying to connect with young people as he begins his role as Rochester's leader.

The mayor hosted a virtual town hall Tuesday night, allowing local teens a chance to ask Evans about issues affecting their lives.

Discussions surrounded education, getting youth involved in the community and violence across the city.

This comes just days after a 14-year-old boy was shot and killed in the city's first homicide of 2022. It's a tragedy Evans says needs to be stopped from happening again.

"The only way to do that is to look at the whole family," Evans said. "And we think that will also help prevent violence before it happens. Because once someone is dead, it is too late. So we are going to spend as much on prevention, as we do on intervention."

Evans officially took his seat as mayor on Saturday.