Cincinnati leaders, community advocates discuss gun violence after Over

Dec 23, 2023

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In the worrisome aftermath of this week's most immediate gun violence, there was a plea for help today and a blunt message from city of Cincinnati leaders.

Council's Law Committee Chairman Scotty Johnson called out the community in a sense, by saying people with information need to, as he put up, step up.

"You know what's going on," Johnson said in an interview and later from the floor of council. "You know whose beefing, you know who has the guns, and you know the ones who are pulling the triggers."

Johnson met today with a day care provider in the Grant Park vicinity where bullets flew yesterday.

"Nobody, two families showed up to provide day care today because it was in that general area. Parents are concerned," Johnson said.

As for what specifically the community can do, Assistant City Manager Virginia Tallent offered one suggestion.

"We absolutely need the help from the community this summer," she said in an interview about the city's approach to the problem. "What we know is that many juveniles in our community are accessing firearms from adults. We need adults who own firearms to commit to safe storage practices."

"Approximately 50% of all guns that are stolen in the city are stolen from vehicles. If you are a gun owner, please, I implore you make sure that you're securing your firearm, that you're not leaving it unsecured in a vehicle because there's a real risk that it could end up in the wrong hands, in the hands of a youth."

According to Tallent, gun locks are available for free at police districts and elsewhere.

There was a discussion about the many available resources and programs the city has for young people.

For City Manager Sheryl Long, the gun violence problem is personal as well as professional.

She lost a sister to gunfire and spoke about the trauma of it this afternoon.

"They have not found the shooter," Long said. "And it happened just like what happened yesterday. So, what I would say to the community, I'm grieving along with you, I'm triggered along with you, and what is even more problematic is that I know that we're doing as much as we can as a city. And I don't have all the answers. But we will continue with them at the table to be, try to be a resource."

Longtime civil rights and community advocate Iris Roley praised Long and her administration for the efforts that are being made, saying the commitment was real.

And yet the shootings are increasing, especially among juveniles and young adults.

And since 2021, Cincinnati police have recovered 4,050 guns from the streets, including more than 600 of them so far this year.

So, with all the pull in the same direction by committed leaders of the city, Roley was asked what she thinks is missing.

"It's going to take way more than just city government," Roley said.

She said there are segments of the community that have been dealt an uneven hand and that a much greater effort should be made to get at the root cause of why some people choose violence.

Roley called on the private sector, school systems and family members to engage in what she called "uncomfortable conversations."

She believes the city has just scratched the surface in that regard. The difficult conversations about root causations.

"I think that that's what's missing," Roley said.