PITTSBURGH -- A spike in violent crime deaths in the African-American community prompted a Town Hall style meeting Thursday night at the Community College of Allegheny County's Allegheny campus.
The NAACP and WTAE Channel 4 Action News sponsored the event, called "WTAE Presents NAACP Town Hall Meeting: Our Community, Our Voices, Our Responsibilities," and hosted by reporter Sheldon Ingram.
Video: Watch The Full Program "WTAE Presents NAACP Town Hall Meeting"In the city of Pittsburgh in 2008, 54 people have been slain. Of the 54, 44 have been African-American, police officials said.
"Recently, our shooters have walked up on a person in broad daylight and shot him there, regardless of who's around," Pittsburgh Police Assistant Chief Maurita Bryant told Ingram before the meeting. "It's more vicious. It's more determined. It's almost like, 'I have to show you and I have to show everybody else.'"
Community leaders said it has to stop, and they organized the town hall meeting to try to bring safety back to their streets.
"It's no longer a crisis, but it is an epidemic. It crosses boundaries in various communities in our region. It travels from county to county -- from state to state," Ingram said.
Organizers said the event was about both dealing with and, more importantly, stopping the violence spike in the community.
"People have to understand that it's a lot of choices -- bad choices, good choices. The decisions that you make develop you and your personality," Oliver High School student Jeremiah Guillory said. "Bad decisions make bad outcomes -- cause and effect. When you do bad things, bad things happen."
One topic stressed Thursday night was the importance of education.
"They are raising themselves by any means possible," Bryant said. "You condone it when you accept money, when they're paying the bills, when they're buying you lavish gifts or asking you to put a car in your name. You're condoning it."
Police said hours of interviews with suspects in cases of violent crimes have revealed a simple mindset.
"The shooting occurred because the person supposedly did something to them, either disrespected them in some way or stole something from them," Bryant said.
Other people said they think the lack of father figures, jobs and respect all contribute to violence.
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