Sheffield pushes forward after another Detroit 'Teen Takeover' shooting
Detroit mayor responds after non-fatal shooting during downtown teen gathering
Two teens are in custody after a 14-year-old was shot Sunday night in downtown Detroit. Mayor Mary Sheffield says the city will continue pushing prevention strategies as young people gather in the city.
(FOX 2) - A 14-year-old was shot, and two other teenagers were taken into custody in connection with the violence during a large downtown gathering involving young people in Detroit over the weekend.
The non-fatal shooting took place weeks after the city began addressing the ‘teen takeovers,' including Mayor Mary Sheffield's deployment of her 6-point community plan to address the violence among young people.
For now, she is sticking with the plan and working with Detroit police to address the incident. But with summer not even here, the warming weather means more people will be outside — and more opportunities for incidents like what happened over the previous weekend.
The backstory:
Another teen takeover event led to gunfire late Sunday night in the city of Detroit when a 14-year-old was struck in the chest.
He was taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries after being treated by a nearby community violence intervention worker.
The shooting happened near Farmer Street and Grand River after a large gathering of kids congregated in the area. A 16 and 17-year-old were taken into custody. Police also recovered a weapon.
"As the community knows, curfew for 15 year olds and under kicks in at 10 p.m., and 11 p.m. is for 16 and 17-year olds. So we are doing our curfew enforcement," Detroit Police Chief Todd Bettison said.
Big picture view:
The shooting took place amid a continuing trend on social media where teens plan and gather at a specific location in a major city.
"Teen takeovers" happen in unsanctioned areas after curfew, leading to large police presences and arrests. Detroit Mayor Mary Sheffield deployed a plan that involved finding other ways for young people to have fun while staying safe following the first several incidents.
The community safety plan involves investing in neighborhoods and expanding mental health services. There are also late-night basketball leagues.
14-year-old shot in Detroit, two teens arrested
A Detroit teen is in the hospital Monday morning after getting shot in the downtown area Sunday night.
What they're saying:
For now, the mayor is pressing forward with her original plan:
"We are going to continue to push enforcement and accountability. I want to be very clear that while this administration is creating safe spaces and investing in prevention, we equally are promoting accountability and enforcement and we will not tolerate violence. We will not tolerate what we saw this weekend. We will continue to push for parental responsibility enforcement in our curfews," Sheffield said. "So it’s not an either or, it’s a both-and. We believe that our approach will yield the results that we want to see."
The mayor did add she is meeting with Bettison to discuss steps going forward.
The Source: Interview with the mayor and previous reporting was cited for this story.