Va. – Gun violence is taking a toll on communities in our region. Since the beginning of the year, 10 News has been tracking incidents of gun violence against juveniles.
Twelve children under the age of 18 have been victims of gun violence in the region since the beginning of the year.
In just over four months, there have been four shootings in Lynchburg – three of which have been in the Diamond Hill neighborhood. There were three shootings in Roanoke and one in Campbell County.
Each of the incidents has differing circumstances, but some are part of a concerning trend: the rise of firearm-related deaths in children.
“They surpassed I believe car crashes or car accidents as the leading cause of death for children,” Volunteer with Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America Mike Fox said. “It’s a horrible commentary on where our gun laws are and our gun culture is in America.”
According to Everytown for Gun Safety, 19,000 children and teens are shot and killed or wounded by firearms every year in the United States.
“Innocent people being struck by stray bullets or worse even being killed, especially children, it creates this sense of fear in these communities that this could happen,” Fox said.
A number of cases remain open when it comes to the 12 local cases with young victims.
One of those open cases is a familiar case – there are still no charges placed in 12-year-old Malayshia Solomon’s case. She was shot and killed in her Lynchburg home, as we previously reported.
And in Roanoke, police say they have a suspect in the case of 7-year-old twin boys who were shot on Salem Avenue, but no one has been charged.
Meanwhile, gun violence prevention advocates call for change.
“We’re failing our kids,” Fox said. “We really are, and there’s so much that can be done at every level of government to stop this from happening.”
Advocates said one way to play your part in preventing gun violence is to join or support community partners and gun violence prevention programs in your area.