Fort Worth leaders call for action to address gun violence after Como shooting
READ MORE
Deadly shooting in west Fort Worth
Three people were killed and eight wounded late Monday when gunfire erupted in a Como parking lot following ComoFest, the west Fort Worth neighborhood’s annual Fourth of July celebration.
Expand All
A group of pastors, Como residents and political leaders gathered Wednesday to grieve the Monday shooting that killed three and injured eight.
They also called on state and federal leaders to take action to address gun violence, arguing it’s not a problem that can solved by Fort Worth alone.
This issue has been a political football for too long while lives are being lost in communities every day, said Fort Worth city council member Jared Williams.
Williams talked about not being able to sleep and staying up with his six-month-old wondering if the popping sounds he was hearing at night were fireworks or gunshots.
“It’s not okay for anyone in this country to have to live in fear about whether a random bullet will hit them or their loved ones,” he said.
Police said gunmen fired into a crowd at Horne Street and Diaz Avenue about 11:45 p.m. following the neighborhood’s annual celebration on the eve of the Fourth of July. No arrests have been made.
Ella Burton, head of the Lake Como Neighborhood Advisory Council, made a point to emphasize that the violence was not related to the community event.
“This was a mass shooting comparable to national, statewide and citywide trends. Therefore the remedies and the solutions must be beyond the community level,” said Burton.
She also called on the city to improve collaboration between Lake Como and the police while also increasing its investments to revitalize the neighborhood.
The city allocated $3 million for community improvements in Como in 2020 as part of its neighborhood improvement program.
The government alone will not be able to solve the problem of gun violence, said Tarrant County Commissioner Roy Brooks.
He said the city, county and community will need to come together collaboratively to address this issue.
“Fort Worth is being mentioned in the same breath as hot spots like Chicago. That’s not who we are,” Brooks said.
Pastor Kyev Tatum, head of the Ministers Justice Coalition, called on the city of Fort Worth to establish a task force to address the problem of gun violence.
While acknowledging the city’s efforts to address this problem through the One Second Collaborative initiative, Tatum said the task force needs to be an equal partner, arguing that too often government initiatives tackle problems from the top down.
Many speakers also said more needs to be done to help young people. Tatum said schools should keep their gymnasiums open during the summer to give young people a place to go to get away from the heat and stay out of trouble.
Fort Worth Police Chief Neil Noakes said his department stands with the Como community.
He acknowledged the speakers comments about helping young people while arguing parents, himself included, can do more to step up.
“We talk a lot about young people, but we forget who raised that generation,” Noakes said.
Noakes joined others in their calls for community to come together and address the problem of gun violence.
This story was originally published July 5, 2023 at 5:17 PM.
.jpg)
