Political leaders, police and residents gathered in Seat Pleasant, Maryland, on Friday to support an ongoing effort to stop gun violence, called Our Streets, Our Future.
Dozens attended the event which was held in a park to pray and listen to speaker’s such as Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Aisha Braveboy.
“This is really about our community coming together to put an end to gun violence,” Braveboy said. “And we know we have to work together, we can’t prosecute or police our way out of this.”
The violence prevention task force is made up of nonprofits, social services agencies, schools, businesses, the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission and faith-based groups.
Outside of community engagement, part of the initiative’s strategy to get ahead of gun violence and related crimes includes implementing violence interrupters and intervenors.
“At Seat Pleasant, we don’t have residents, we have stakeholders,” said the city’s police chief, Demetrious Harris.
“So you all are our stakeholders and we can’t get it done without you. It’s not the police department’s job, it’s all of our jobs.”
Information about employment, counseling and mentoring services was also available at the event.
