ORLANDO, Fla. – Orlando Police Chief Eric Smith is holding another community meeting in a series he’s called Community Conversations. It’s an ongoing effort to hear from residents in different parts of the city.
This week’s meeting is for District 6 residents, and it’s being held at the Grand Avenue Community Center at 6 p.m.
Juanita Vinson has lived in Carver Shores for 40 years and said that overall, he feels pretty safe.
“People in this district care about what’s going on In this district,” Vinson said. “There is crime out there, but it’s good people, too.”
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She said it broke her heart when she learned that not from where she lives, a mother and her 6-year-old daughter were shot back in August in what police say was a drive-back shooting when a gang targeted the wrong house.
The 6-year-old girl didn’t survive. Police ended up arresting five suspects, the youngest of whom was only 15 years old.
Also, back on Easter Sunday, there was a shootout near Poppy Park in Carver Shores. Police said that three people died, including Patriza Deterville, who was an innocent bystander.
“Nobody wants to see that continue. It’s a heartbreak,” said Vinson.
It’s part of why she and many of her neighbors planned to attend Tuesday’s District 6 community meeting called by Orlando Police Chief Eric Smith. Vinson said addressing crime takes everyone.
“We have to look at: what can we do? What can I say to these young men? I don’t know what he’s going through,” said Vinson.
“I personally feel that this is a public health emergency happening right here in our community,” said District 6 Commissioner Bakari Burns.
Commissioner Burns said part of addressing the recent crime in his district is getting guns out of the hands of young people.
“Interrupting the flood of guns in the hands of our youth, recovering those guns but also bringing more resources designed to provide them with that opportunity for positive extracurricular activities,” said Burns.
Dante Johnson is the founder of Wake Up Mentoring and works with young men across Orlando to try to keep them on track. He said he, too, once made bad choices.
“I share my story of my bad choices with the young men, and I don’t want them to think that just because you make a bad choice, you can’t change and do better,” said Johnson. “I kind of meet them where they are and just kind of help guide them.”
There are many programs offered through the city of Orlando, like the My Brother’s Keeper programs and the Kidz Zone program, for example.
News 6 has asked OPD for crime stats to get a better perspective of the crime we’re seeing in District 6.
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