Pandemic stress, gangs, and utter fear fueled a rise in teen shootings

DIEGO never imagined he’d carry a gun. Not as a child, when shots were fired outside his Chicagoarea home. Not at age 12, when one of his friends was gunned down.

Diego’s mind changed at 14, when he and his friends were getting ready to walk to midnight

Mass for the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. But instead of hymns, Diego heard gunfire, and then screaming. A gang member shot two people, including one of Diego’s friends, who was hit nine times.

“My friend was bleeding out,” said Diego, who asked KHN not to use his last name to protect his safety and privacy. As his friend lay on the ground, “he was choking on his own blood.”

The attack left Diego’s friend paralyzed from the waist down. And it left Diego, one of a growing number of teens who witness gun violence, traumatized and afraid to go outside without a gun.

Research shows that adolescents exposed to gun violence are twice as likely as others to perpetrate a serious violent crime within two years, perpetuating a cycle that can be hard to interrupt.

Diego asked his friends for help finding a handgun and — in a country supersaturated with firearms — they had no trouble procuring one, which they gave him free.

“I felt safer with the gun,” said Diego, now 21. “I hoped I wouldn’t use it.”

For two years, Diego kept the gun only as a deterrent. When he finally pulled the trigger, it changed his life forever.

Disturbing trends

The news media focuses heavily on mass shootings and the mental state of the people who commit them. But there is a far larger epidemic of gun violence — particularly among Black, Hispanic, and Native American youth — ensnaring some kids not even old enough to get a driver’s license. Research shows that chronic exposure to trauma can change the way a child’s brain develops.

Trauma also can play a central role in explaining why some young people look to guns for protection and wind up using them against their peers.

The number of children under 18 who killed someone with a firearm jumped from 836 in 2019 to 1,150 in 2020.

In New York City, the number of young people who killed someone with a gun more than doubled, rising from 48 juvenile offenders in 2019 to 124 in 2022, according to data from the city’s police department.

Youth gun violence increased more modestly in other cities; in many places, the number of teen gun homicides rose in 2020 but has since fallen closer to prepandemic levels. Researchers who analyze crime statistics stress that teens are not driving the overall rise in gun violence, which has increased across all ages. In 2020, 7.5% of homicide arrests involved children under 18, a slightly smaller share than in previous years.

Local leaders have struggled with the best way to respond to teen shootings.

A handful of communities — including Pittsburgh; Fulton County, Georgia; and Prince George’s County, Maryland — have debated or implemented youth curfews to curb teen violence. What’s not in dispute: More people ages 1 to 19 die by gun violence than by any other cause.

A l ifetime of limits

The devastating toll of gun violence shows up in emergency rooms every day.

At the UChicago Medicine

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Diana Crofts-Pelayo, Cal OES Assistant Director of Crisis Communication and Public Affairs said during a March 13 briefing that the state is offering “life-saving resources” and providing an update on the states’ “comprehensive effort to protect California communities during these rounds of storms.”

“Gov. Gavin Newsom has activated the State’s Operation Center, which is essentially the full weight of the State,” CroftsPelayo said. “The state has to be able to have tightly coordinated responses and rapidly deploy resources to protect impacted communities.” Cal OES is reporting that so far this year California has experienced multiple large and damaging storms in the form of snow, gusty winds, lightning and torrential rain. It is warning that storms continue to be dynamic and pose a threat to communities throughout the state.

Gov. Gavin Newsom has activated the State Operations Center to bring state support to county-led emergency response efforts and coordinate mutual aid from neighboring jurisdictions. To elevate the state’s response, Newsom has declared a state of emergency in 40 counties: Amador, Butte, El Dorado, Fresno, Humboldt, Imperial, Inyo, Kern, Lake, Los Angeles, Madera, Mariposa, Mendocino, Merced, Mono, Monterey, Napa, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Sacramento, San Bernardino, San Francisco, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Sierra, Sonoma, Stanislaus, Tulare, Tuolumne, Yuba, Calaveras, Del Norte, Glenn, Kings, San Benito and San Joaquin counties have been warned that disaster may occur.

According to Crofts-Pelayo, the impact of the “extreme weather has been significant.” There are 33 shelters opened in 14 counties, about 15,800 people are under evacuation and 6,800 people in 16 counties are without power.

“Our climate is changing and at the end of the day the hots are getting hotter, the wets are wetter, and the dry dryer,” Crofts-Pelayo said. “So, with that we are having to rapidly evolve our response and preparedness messaging to really fit a whole host of different communities. I think that we never really went away from the January storms.”

On March 13, President Joe Biden approved the Governor’s emergency declaration request and has authorized federal assistance to support the storm response effort in California.

Listos California has provided “Preparedness Tips” that the office says will play a critical role

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA REGIONAL RAIL AUTHORITY IFB NO. PO921-23

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3/15/23

CNS-3677772# in keeping communities safe. Californians residing in affected counties are encouraged to sign up for their local community’s warning system at CalAlerts.gov. Use Television, radio, and county emergency services social media channels to get the information to be safe, authorities say.

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If asked to evacuate, do so immediately and know that personnel at emergency evacuation centers cannot ask for identification. Everyone is welcome at emergency evacuation centers. Never drive around barricades and never drive into flooded areas. Do not walk, swim, or drive through flood waters. Visit Listos California for information on the range of resources to help Californians in need.

LOS ANGELES COUNTY METROPOLITAN TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY (LACMTA) REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

LACMTA will receive Proposals for AE100331 - Transit Operations Engineering Support electronically via email to bids@metro.net. All electronic Proposals must be submitted to LACMTA at bids@metro.net, on or before 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time on Thursday, April 20, 2023. Electronic Proposals received after the above date and time may be rejected and returned unopened. Each proposal electronic submittal (email) must be marked Proposal No. AE100331.

For a copy of the Proposal/ Bid specification visit our Solicitation Page on our Vendor Portal at https:// business.metro.net or for further information email Victor Zepeda at zepedav@ metro.net.

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