MPD: Kids “need to be held accountable” for gun use

WASHINGTON (DC News Now)—Two teens are recovering Wednesday night after being shot by a classmate.

According to DC Police, three teenagers who attend IDEA Public Charter School got into an altercation outside of the school. One of the teens pulled out a handgun and shot the other two.

Police said a 15-year-old boy was arrested.

“All this attitude stuff leave, it on the street. Why is he going to school with a gun?” said Janice Williams, who was picking her niece of from school after the lockdown lifted.

She said in order to reduce teen violence, kids in the city need more support.

“Without a village young people feel like they don’t have anybody to turn to. They’re teaching themselves everything and half of the time it’s the wrong thing,” she said.

“It’s tragic honestly. It’s just, a lot of the youth they don’t know another way,” said Joel Super, who is a youth ambassador with the Alliance of Concerned Men.

The ACM works to prevent and intervene in youth crime.

Super said too many kids, as young as 12 and 13 years old, have guns.

“No one wants to be a victim, it’s that simple. No one wants to say that someone did something to them because in the streets that all you really have is their name and that nothing was done to you. It’s really a pride thing, it’s really an ego thing,” he said.

Through his work with ACM, Super said he works with kids to try and build a sense of worth. And, teach them conflict resolution.

“Once you let them know that you’ve got to uphold yourself fin a certain manner, they won’t get involved in a violent thing because, ‘I’m better than that,’” he said.

However, he also noted that parents need to be more involved by talking to their children and knowing what’s going on in their lives.

“If the parents were more involved in their kids lives, they most likely wouldn’t go down that path. Most likely.”

MPD Chief Robert Contee agreed.

“Parents need to talk to your children,” said the Chief.

Contee also said kids shooting guns need to be held accountable.

“When you’re taking (guns) off of children, off of children the age of 15 who decide the best way to decide a dispute is to pull a gun and shoot somebody in front of a school, that’s unacceptable,” said Contee. “And I don’t care how old you are, you need to be held accountable.”

MPD recovered 72 illegal guns off the street between August 22 and 29. At least four of them were taken from kids under the age of 18.