CINCINNATI — It’s been one year since Cincinnati city leaders declared gun violence a “public health crisis.” Now, they’re asking for community input on the work that still needs to be done.
“It’s a public health crisis in multiple ways,” said Cincinnati council member Mark Jeffreys. “The obvious, that it impacts people's lives and people are dying, but it also impacts people who are surrounded by that.”
On Thursday night, members of the city council and the Cincinnati Police Department joined local and national anti-violence advocates to discuss what progress has been made in the past year when it comes to gun violence in the City of Cincinnati.
Shooting survivors spoke about their experience at the meeting, noting that the impact remains decades later in some cases. Data shows gun violence is impacting children at an alarming rate. Since 2020, firearm-related injury is the leading cause of death for children in the U.S. Lamar Spikes, 16, was shot and killed in Westwood Saturday night. The investigation into his death is ongoing.
“He was a great athlete. He had a ton of siblings,” said his grandmother Tracy Morris. “He was a ladies' man.”
Spikes, a student at Taft High School, was not the only teen shot in Westwood. Three others were injured in weekend shootings.
“He never got the experience going to prom,” Morris said. “His parents never will see anything.”
For Morris, his death brought a sense of deja vu. Her son, 34-year-old father Antwan Morris, was shot and killed in November 2021.
“He was helping a young lady change her locks at her house,” She said. “Unfortunately, her boyfriend decided to take his life.”
Council member Meeka Owens said the city's gun violence issues will not be solved overnight, “but it is something that can help determine and shape the future of how we address this.”
Owens said city leaders are focused primarily on targeting violence prevention strategies to the 10 neighborhoods experiencing the most gun violence.
“We are now defining this scope and this framework that is around, ‘Where are we sick?’” Owens said. “‘What communities are sickest the most?’ Because gun violence isn't happening everywhere.”
She added that strategies to address gun violence as a public health crisis must include addressing trauma and mental health concerns.
Earlier this month, Cincinnati City Council voted to pass two new gun laws addressing safe gun storage and possession of firearms.
Morris said she wishes she had the answers to fix the problem, but thinks improving the dialogue between communities and police is a good place to start.
“Our babies are dying,” said Morris. “They're dying. They are dying every day. Lamar Spikes, he should be the last 16-year-old that we bury here in the city of Cincinnati.”
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