Cleveland Heights Mayor Kahlil Seren sent a letter to residents Sunday night discussing the recent gun violence that has occurred in the city.
Two people died due to gun violence within the first week of January in Cleveland Heights, which is the same amount as all of 2022 and 2023, Seren said in his letter
On New Year's Day, Cleveland Heights Police responded to a call about gunshots heard at a home in the 3900 block of Bluestone Road, police said.
Upon arrival, they found 15-year-old Narayia Thomas with an apparent gunshot wound to the head. She was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
A 14-year-old boy surrendered himself in connection to Thomas's death, police said.
RELATED: 15-year-old girl found dead inside Cleveland Heights home; 14-year-old suspect turns himself in
On Thursday, police responded to another call about gunshots in the 3300 block of East Overlook Road, police said.
Upon arrival, they found 22-year-old Alexander Gurley dead at the scene with multiple gunshot wounds, police said.
RELATED: Cleveland Heights Police investigating fatal shooting on East Overlook Road
"We’re saddened and grieve for and with the families and friends of the victims," Seren said in his letter. "We want to wrap our arms around them and share their pain."
Seren said police are still searching for the suspect involved in Gurley's death and asks anyone with information to contact CHPD detectives at 216-216-291-3883 or Crime Stoppers at 216-252-7463.
In his letter, Seren said the city needs to work toward reducing violence in the community and, in 2023, secured more than $400,000 in grant funding to help create programs geared toward violence prevention.
"We also need to work toward reducing violence in our community," Seren said. "In 2023, I announced that violence prevention, particularly among young people, would become a major priority of my administration in the year to come."
Seren said the accessibility of guns is too easy, and limiting people's access can help reduce the gun violence within the city. However, he said with state laws, there is not much the city can do besides collaborating with other cities on reducing gun violence.
"We need to look out for one another. Cleveland Heights prides itself on being accepting, but violence—both physical and psychological—is something we can’t accept," Seren said. "As individuals and groups, we need to stand up, step in, or call out for help to interrupt and prevent violence wherever we see it."
You can read the full letter below:
"Dear Neighbor,
It has been a difficult week. Within the first four days of 2024, we had as many homicides in our city as we had in all of 2022 and 2023. News of the tragic deaths of 15-year-old Narayia Thomas on January 1 and 22-year-old Alexander Gurley on January 4 shocked our community and left many of us shaken.
In the face of such violence, it’s hard to know what to think and feel.
We’re saddened and grieve for and with the families and friends of the victims. We want to wrap our arms around them and share their pain.
We’re angry. We want those who committed these terrible acts to face justice.
We’re worried. We’re concerned about what these types of crimes say about Cleveland Heights and the kind of life we can live here.
And, more than anything, we want it to stop. Any amount of violence is too much, and it’s made more heartrending when young people are involved.
When something senseless happens, we have to make the world make sense again. I believe that’s a task we can only accomplish together.
We can start by finding the people responsible.
The 14-year-old who allegedly killed Miss Thomas surrendered himself to authorities earlier this week, and the dedicated men and women in the Cleveland Heights Police Department are diligently investigating Mr. Gurley’s killing. But they need your help.
If you have any information about the shooting that occurred in the 3300 block of E. Overlook Road at roughly 8:20 on January 4, please contact CHPD detectives at 216-216-291-3883 or Crime Stoppers at 216-252-7463. Someone must have seen or heard something, and if you think it’s you, please let us know.
We also need to work toward reducing violence in our community. In 2023, I announced that violence prevention, particularly among young people, would become a major priority of my administration in the year to come. We secured more than $400,000 in grant funding to create a comprehensive set of programs addressing the root causes of violence and helping those most susceptible to violence make better choices that help lead them away from violent crime. These programs will be the start of a community-wide effort and will require care and attention from all of us in the long term.
Reducing violence in our city also must include doing whatever we can to limit the all-too-easy access to guns. Against a state government that believes the solution to gun violence is more guns, Cleveland Heights is frustratingly limited in what it can do on its own. But we can join with other cities to insist we stem the rising tide of guns that threatens our neighborhoods. And our safety forces can and will focus on perpetrators who have demonstrated their willingness to use guns in service of a crime.
Finally, we need to look out for one another. Cleveland Heights prides itself on being accepting, but violence—both physical and psychological—is something we can’t accept. As individuals and groups, we need to stand up, step in, or call out for help to interrupt and prevent violence wherever we see it.
As much as we would like, we can’t turn back the clock and bring Naraiya and Alexander back to us. But we can honor their lives by dedicating ourselves to building a safer, more peaceful Cleveland Heights for all of us. I hope you will join me in the effort.
Sincerely,
Kahlil Seren
Mayor"
