Birmingham, Alabama, officials are fed up with the spate of teenagers killed in and around the city.
The most recent incident saw two 16-year-old boys shot and killed on Sunday. Their deaths bring the number of teens who have been killed in the Birmingham area to eight for the year so far, AL.com reported.
Six of those killed were students in high school.
"We are 100% fed up," Acting Birmingham Police Chief Scott Thurmond said. "We're tired of seeing it. We're tired of going to those scenes. We're tired of seeing families ripped apart by the violence. It's got to stop."
Since Jan. 1, violent crime in Birmingham was down 9.5% compared to the same time frame last year, Thurmond said. There have been 16 murders in Birmingham as of Monday — an increase of one when compared to the same time period in 2021.
"Crime is down overall in the city, but the homicides continue to plague us,'' Thurmond said.
Mayor Randall Woodfin, a Democrat, tweeted Monday: "They didn't ask for this heartbreak. All we can do is uplift those who are hurting and work harder to protect the young people in our lives. Birmingham Police are working tirelessly to ensure justice for these hurting families."
In another tweet, he added: "It's time to stop being numb to the violence and prioritize the lives of our youth. Until we are the ones who wipe those tears, provide protection and demand justice, the cycle will never break."
Meanwhile, New York officials are vowing to remove homeless people from the city's subway following an increase in violence on the underground transit system since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, AFP reported. Violent crime on the subway system increased by 25% in 2021 compared to 2019, according to police data.
Jeffrey Rodack ✉
Jeffrey Rodack, who has nearly a half century in news as a senior editor and city editor for national and local publications, has covered politics for Newsmax for nearly seven years.
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