Children's Deaths Prompt Some Pittsburgh Gangs To Drop GunsPOSTED: 8:13 am EST February 5,
2008 PITTSBURGH -- The leader of a group called One Vision, One Life placed a call on Monday to the Pittsburgh Police Headquarters to talk with Chief Nate Harper.One Vision project director Richard Garland told police that eight of the 11 gangs who operate on the North Side have agreed to a cease-fire because of the recent violence involving teens.Jolesa Barber, 12, was killed last week while visiting her sister at a house in the Perry South neighborhood. Her funeral was held on Tuesday.Police said Anthony Wilson and Michael Gist fired 40 shots into the home, apparently in retaliation for something unrelated to Barber.Police said both Wilson and Gist are gang members.Ernest Tolliver, 15, was shot and killed outside a KFC restaurant in Homewood the same week as Barber. His funeral was also held on Tuesday. No arrests have been made in the case.One Vision, One Life works with about 30 ex-gang members who go out into the community and "negotiate" with current gang members."I have guys working the streets, talking to these guys all the time," said Garland.Garland said the gangs recognized a line had been crossed when innocent children started getting killed."Yeah, this is a 12-year-old baby that was killed," said Garland. "That's not part of the gang culture. Twelve-year-old babies don't have nothing to do with this. They got little brothers and sisters, and they don't want nothing to happen to them based on something they might have done."Garland said he believes the cease-fire truce will last as long as communities continue to give the children resources to get out of the situation."As long as we come up with opportunities to get these kids out of this life, it'll last a long time," said Garland.But the agreement is only with eight of the estimated 80 gangs in Pittsburgh.Some of the gangs agreeing to cease fire include: The Charles Street Crips, the Brighton Place Crips and the Manchester Original Gangsters.Garland said he expects similar cease-fire announcements to come in the next couple of weeks. Related Links: More Allegheny County NewsGet RSS Headlines | Free Desktop Alert Copyright 2008 by ThePittsburghChannel. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |
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