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(PHILADELPHIA) \u2014 Philadelphia, which is battling an epidemic of gun violence, has reached 300 homicides for the year, police said.<\/p>\n
The 300th victim was an 18-year-old man shot multiple times Monday night, according to ABC Philadelphia station WPVI. Three weapons were used and at least 54 pieces of ballistics were recovered at the scene, Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Frank Vanore told reporters.<\/p>\n
Also among this year\u2019s victims are a 16-year-old boy who was fatally shot three times in the face and a 17-year-old boy gunned down near his high school in the middle of the afternoon.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery act of gun violence is an unspeakable tragedy. The fact that our city has lost 300 souls to date this year is devastating,\u201d Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney told reporters Tuesday. \u201cThe surging gun violence that we\u2019ve seen in our city and cities across the country pains us all.\u201d<\/p>\n
At this time last year, the city had 304 homicide victims, police said. Last year Philadelphia reached a record high, ending the year with 562 homicides.<\/p>\n
To the mayor, easy access to guns is the biggest issue.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn Pennsylvania \u2014 unlike New Jersey or New York or California \u2014 it\u2019s very, very easy to obtain a firearm. You and I could drive up to Bucks County [in Pennsylvania] this weekend and probably buy a bag of guns and sell them out of the trunk of my car,\u201d Kenney told a reporter. \u201cAnd that\u2019s the major problem.\u201d<\/p>\n
The mayor stressed, \u201cWe implore everyone from elected officials to community members to work together to find solutions to solve this deeply complex issue.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo address the availability and ease of access to firearms, we\u2019ll always be fighting an uphill battle. The police department is investigating these crimes and they continue to take a record number of illegal firearms off our streets, but they need the public\u2019s help to solve these crimes,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
With so many young people falling victim to gun violence or committing violence, Erica Atwood, senior director of the city\u2019s Office of Policy and Strategic Initiatives for Criminal Justice and Public Safety, highlighted programs available for high-risk youths.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese programs are centered in communities that are more vulnerable to gun violence, and are free and open to youth and young adults,\u201d she said at the press briefing Tuesday. \u201cAdditionally, there are a number of community organizations that we have funded through our community expansion grants that serve young people in vulnerable communities.\u201d<\/p>\n
The city also aims to keep children safe through a curfew that\u2019s in effect this summer for kids 17 and younger, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.<\/p>\n
Curfew centers are now available, Atwood said. If \u201cparents are working two and three jobs and don\u2019t have the ability to have child care,\u201d she said, the curfew center \u201cprovides an opportunity for us as a community to know where our kids are, and really kind of rebuild that connective tissue in neighborhoods to take care of one another.\u201d<\/p>\n
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