Tuesday, July 18, 2023–10:04 p.m.

-David Crowder, WRGA News-

A community discussion at the Rome City Auditorium Tuesday is just the start of the process to address gun violence in the community, according to Rome Mayor Sundai Stevenson.

Stevenson and members of the Rome City Commission began organizing the discussion on June 27 following two shootings during the overnight hour that left one man dead and another wounded.

“We’re here to listen,” said Doug Walker with the City of Rome, who moderated the discussion.

Panelists for the discussion included Rome Police Chief Denise Downer-McKinney.

There have been seven killings with firearms through the first half of the year, which is more than in all of 2022. The Rome Police Department has taken 90 firearms into evidence so far this year.  40 were seized during Operation Save Our Seniors in South Rome. 25 of those were stolen.

“Not all the guns are illegal,” Downer- McKinney said. “They are held by law-abiding citizens—those who purchase guns to protect themselves and those who purchase guns to go hunting, but we do have a lot of youth that have the ability to get the guns. What are those abilities? People entering autos, people leaving their doors open, leaving guns in their cars so they are easily accessible.”

Downer-McKinney added that one hardware store has been broken into twice this year with the teenage suspects looking for guns.

“As parents, as guardians, we need to know what our kids are doing and who they are associating with,” she said.”

As for the root causes of gun violence, there were varying opinions—from lack of opportunity and poverty to mistrust in the system, and the youth not feeling they are a part of the community.

“A lot of times our young people, although they understand the statement that it takes a village to raise a child, they don’t feel like they are part of that village,” said panelist Rev. Derrick McDaniel. So, how can the faith community help? We can actually try to close that gap.”

There are also generational issues, and a need for more adult mentors, according to panelist Rontavious “Tay” Coley.

“Most kids that get into trouble don’t have guidance,” he said. “Nine times out of ten, the kids that don’t have the guidance, and they want help, are scared to come to you and you’re scared to open to them. We need to find a way to bridge that gap.”

Local Hip Hop artist T. Wade Montana, who uses his music to relay a positive message, told the panel he also believes there is a kind of separation that exists, and asked what he could do to help bridge that gap.

“Kids that come from where I come from would run from this panel,” he said. “I’m from the projects in East Rome. We’re separated, and I would have run from that panel. But knowing what I know now, I would love to be on that panel.”

Ideas regarding other possible solutions for gun violence varied, but most in attendance seemed to agree there should be conflict resolution introduced as part of the curriculum in the schools.

“Conflict resolution can definitely be in the curriculum because that’s what our kids need,” said Rick Bermudez, a conflict resolution professional. “Right now they don’t have that. They don’t know how to resolve conflict. They know how to be violent, and the violence starts from a young age.”

Bermudez added that breaking the cycle of violence has to start with the building of communities, but the problem is, right now, everyone is numb.

“Someone could die today, and tomorrow or a week from now, it’s nothing,” he said. “Nobody is talking about it anymore. Nobody cares.”

Rome High Principal Parke Wilkinson was also a panelist in the discussion. New safety measures were put into place late last year after there were two separate incidents of students bringing guns to school. One of those safety measures was the installation of the Evolv weapons detection system.

“We’ve had 156,000 students walk through our system, and we haven’t had any weapons since this was installed,” he said.

According to Mayor Stevenson, the hope is to come up with a workable comprehensive plan to address the causes of gun violence.

“This is not something we are going to solve in one meeting,” she said. “This is a long-term process. We need to make sure we keep our appetite to combat the problem. We can’t start it and then stop it.”

Tuesday’s discussion also included videos of interviews conducted with survivors of gun violence, including some who have lost family members.