Effort Underway To Reduce Violence In Grand Rapids

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police9-81

After 19 murders in Grand Rapids this year and a lot of gun violence in the past few months, community members and police are calling for a stop to it. Marian Barrera-Young is an activist with the Baxter Neighborhood Association. She spoke with Michigan News Network this week.

“The people that see it and don’t say anything, to me, it’s just increasing and saying ‘It’s OK to do that in my neighborhood,’” Barrera-Young said. “So, you have seniors, you have young people in the community, you have people just walking and passing by, and this cannot continue this way.”

There were three shootings in Grand Rapids this Thursday alone. Grand Rapids Police Chief Eric Payne says his department wants to work with the community to put an end to what he calls senseless violence.