CINCINNATI — Cincinnati leaders shared some disturbing data at Thursday's press conference about an uptick in youth gun violence in the Queen City, along with their plans to try and make it stop.
So far in 2023, 31 juveniles have been victims of both fatal and non-fatal shootings. At this time last year, that number was 10. The number of older gun violence victims is going down but the number of children involved is going up drastically.
Mayor Aftab Pureval said the main goal for the summer is to get guns out of the hands of children.
According to CPD data, nearly 600 firearms have been recovered so far this year. Nearly half of all firearms stolen were taken from vehicles.
Cincinnati Police Chief Teresa Theetge said that overtime funds have been set aside to increase police visibility in all 52 of Cincinnati's neighborhoods. The department is also increasing mobile unit patrols on bikes in areas where there is an increase in violent crime. SWAT and Civil Disturbance Response Team (CDRT) will also be utilized in highly populated areas every weekend throughout the summer starting this weekend. These areas include The Banks and Main Street.
The Mayor said that this is all in the short term to increase resources and presence on the streets of Cincinnati.
"We're all to blame," he said. "This is going to take all of us working together, putting differences aside, partisanship aside and saying 'in the State of Ohio and in Cincinnati the gun violence is just simply unacceptable.'"
Watch the full press conference here:
City Manager Sheryl Long said the city needs "all hands on deck."
"We can't police our way out of this," she said.
$1.6 million has been set aside in the city's budget to fund various community led programs focused on a comprehensive and collaborative approach to youth violence prevention. Long said an additional $600,000 has been allocated for new community proposals that are focused on violence intervention.
"We are looking for outside experts to inform our decision making and provide evidence-based target strategies to address the root cause driving gun violence," Long said.
The funds will be awarded in July, Long added.
Councilman Scotty Johnson held back tears while he pleaded with people to help.
"Citizens what are you going to do? This is not a situation where police by themselves can do this," he said. "We can't legislate our way out of this."
City leaders called on parents, coaches, local business leaders, educators and faith leaders to volunteer and get involved in programs that focus on keeping young people on the right path.
You can find more information on how you can get involved is on the City's website.
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