City Council takes action on gun violence

Jun. 30—HENDERSON — The details of Abdul Rasheed's biography are more extensive than only a "concerned citizen and victim of gun violence," but those are the parameters for how the longtime local advocate for equal justice views his capacity in working with the Henderson City Council to address gun violence.

Rasheed was present Tuesday afternoon as the City Council unanimously passed a resolution declaring gun violence a public health issue during a special-called meeting that drew a significant crowd inside the City Council chambers.

"The No. 1 fact is that we continue to have these gun shootings in Henderson and Vance County and it's resulting in a total misrepresentation of the quality of our community and the good people in our community," Rasheed said. "It's impacting business recruitment and destabilizing families, both for the victims and for the the perpetrators who are doing it."

Rasheed, who lost his son Samir to gun violence in 2004, addressed the City Council's Public Safety committee in a June 15 meeting organized by Councilwoman Sara Coffey, providing some facts and figures to emphasize why he felt Henderson needed to take action.

Five days later, a shooting incident and fight near the South Henderson ballpark prompted a push for more immediate action by Coffey and Councilwoman Melissa Elliott, who have been working with the Henderson Police Department on new gun violence prevention strategies.

Coffey also announced that the City Council intends to formally work with the Vance County Commissioners in addressing gun violence.

Each council member voted in favor of the resolution Tuesday. Michael Rainey and Garry Daeke were not present but Daeke sent word that he "wholeheartedly endorsed" the resolution.

What the resolution means

During the assembly, City Manager Terrell Blackmon provided background on national gun violence, citing federal data that shows Black males between the ages of 15 and 34 are most at risk, and that gun violence is the leading cause of premature death for young adults.

Blackmon described the efforts Henderson and its police department have already made in recent years to combat the issue, including the implementation of the National Integrated Ballistic Information Networking system that allows police to directly enter shell casings into a database to help provide investigative leads on shootings.

Explaining the purpose of the resolution at hand, Blackmon said the proclamation is indicative of a "commitment to the reduction of violent crime and [that the city] encourages its health care and service providers, community partners, and all citizens and parents in the faith-based community to join in the fight to reduce gun violence."

"The City Council wishes to declare gun violence a public health issue," Blackmon continued, "and is committed to prioritizing relationships and existing networks with community partners, local municipalities and community members to establish evidence-based public health responses to address the underlying social, economic and systemic factors that promote gun violence."

Blackmon added that Henderson should continue exploring prosecutorial assistance from the governor and the attorney general and help to bolster regional task forces focused on gun violence.

Following the meeting, Mayor Eddie Ellington acknowledged the challenge in remedying the issue of gun violence while simultaneously seeking to preserve or improve the image of the city.

"Sadly, it's a nationwide epidemic that's taking place and Henderson's no different," Ellington said. "But that doesn't mean we can turn a blind eye to it. As leaders, people want that from us and they demand that from us and that's what we need to do if we want safer neighborhoods [and] a vibrant city."

"Getting gun violence and reckless behavior and shooting under control is a main emphasis of our City Council and administration," he said.

Scope

Henderson Police Chief Marcus Barrow said Wednesday that the six homicides recorded in the city in the last 12 months are "regretfully" average in comparison to previous years.

Barrow also provided the following Henderson Police Department statistics for the last 12 months:

—118 firearms seized through arrests and search warrants

—157 firearm weapon violation charges

—107 aggravated assault with a firearm charges

An aggravated assault, which could include pointing a gun, is by definition "an unlawful attack by one person upon another wherein the offender uses a weapon or displays it in a threatening manner, or the victim suffers obvious, severe or aggravated bodily injury involving apparent broken bones, loss of teeth, possible internal injury, severe laceration, or loss of consciousness."

"As you can see, we have taken a proactive approach to gun violence," Barrow said, "but the problem is rooted deeper than enforcement of the law. This is a national issue that the majority of communities are facing. We are being proactive in attempting to handle it."

Engagement

Blackmon urged the City Council and the mayor to involve the entire community in addressing gun violence, referencing faith leaders among others.

Rasheed echoed that sentiment and was joined in the audience Tuesday by the Rev. William H. Clayton II of St. James Missionary Baptist Church, who was credited during the meeting for leading on gun violence prevention.

As Elliott noted in the meeting, the resolution comes days after Congress approved bipartisan gun violence legislation that emphasizes enhanced background checks.

Rasheed said he firmly supports the right to bear arms but expressed concern about assault weapons and large capacity magazines. He believes local leaders should do everything they can "legally" to better protect the community.

"This is clearly a public health issue that impacts our full community," Rasheed said. "We can't allow it to just be a race issue. And the reason is that this activity is being driven by opioids, heroin in some cases and the notion of access to drugs and drugs of choice. So we have to educate against drugs, work with local police departments to deal with the access question for those drugs.

"These are the things that's killing our people and we're all vulnerable to being in the wrong place at the wrong time. That's why this is a community-wide issue."