CLEVELAND — A 14-year-old girl was shot and killed early Tuesday morning in Cleveland's Brooklyn Centre neighborhood. The shooting happened at an apartment complex on Archwood Avenue.
According to police, preliminary information reveals the teenager was involved in an argument with a 15-year-old boy when he shot her in the head.
She was transported to Metro Hospital where she later died.
The boy has been identified, but it is unknown if he is in custody.
One city council member says her ward, where the 14-year-old was killed, has seen an increase in crime, and it’s the number one concern for families there.
“This has been happening more so in our neighborhood. I've been there for 30 years, and there’s no doubt there’s been an increase in crime in our area,” said Ward 14 Councilwoman Jasmin Santana.
Santana got the call early Tuesday about the girl who was shot and killed.
“It’s just so disheartening, especially since I have kids. I just can’t even imagine what the parents are going through,” said Santana.
The deadly shooting is just the latest in a string of summer gun violence involving teenagers, one as young as 13.
Councilwoman Santana will be talking about recent gun violence Wednesday night at a community town hall with Mayor Justin Bibb and Safety Director Karrie Howard.
It'll begin at 6 p.m. at the Pivot Center for Arts at 2937 W. 25th Street.
“I remember growing up where curfew was strongly enforced. Why aren’t we talking about curfews if they’re out in the neighborhood after a certain time? Then you know what, I’m sorry, parents need to be held accountable,” said Santana.
News 5 spoke with Howard and Cleveland Police Chief Wayne Drummond earlier this month about violence in the city.
When asked if more teens are involved in crimes now than in previous years, Chief Drummond told us it appears so but needs a deeper dive to look for trends.
“They’re much younger and what we also see is not only are they younger but they’re more prone to violence,” said Chief Drummond.
Howard said they have to address the problem with teens holistically.
“We are seeing juveniles involved in these crimes so we also have to look at what’s going on, right? If these juveniles are involved in these crimes such as carjackings, what's going on in their homes? What's going on in school?” said Howard.
"It's certainly been a more persistent issue in recent months than it seems to have been in the past," said Professor Daniel Flannery at the Case Western Reserve University's Mandel School.
While we don't know the exact circumstances in some of these cases, Flannery says there are a few things going on — one being the sheer number of firearms on the streets and young people having access to them.
“Among young people, everybody thinks everybody else has a gun, so if they're in a dispute or they're in a conflict, they're quick to use their gun against the other person before they use it against them, and they're impulsive and quick to anger and don't have the skills necessary to resolve that problem or conflict very easily,” Flannery said.
Flannery says there’s also a lot of cumulative stress, like "kids not being actively involved in school, kids not having opportunities outside of school time, and a lot of other stressors related to COVID and the economy."
The deadly shooting on Archwood hits close for Councilwoman Santana.
She raised her two children in the community who are now off to college.
"They grew up in this neighborhood right where there's so much crime so I kept them away from that. They had to be home at a certain time, they had to stay involved in youth programming, they had to stay more involved in school,” said Santana.
So what can a parent do right now?
"Talk to your child, be vigilant, don't assume that they're not at risk for being exposed to things that could get them into trouble,” said Flannery.
News 5 Investigators requested an interview with Mayor Bibb but he was not made available today.
We also requested numbers from Cleveland police to get specifics about teens and crime.
Council responds
News 5's DaLaun Dillard spoke to Cleveland Ward 3 Councilman Kerry McCormack about the violence the city has been seeing involving teens and children.
"Any time a young person loses their life like that it's a tragedy, so our condolences and our prayers go out the family," McCormack said. "We're seeing this gun violence nationally, and here in Cleveland is no exception. It's got to stop. A big part of that is access to guns."
Watch more in the player below.
Teen shootings
This summer in Cleveland, multiple teens have been shot.
In June, three teens were shot on Cleveland's east side.
RELATED: 3 teens shot in Lee-Miles neighborhood
In July, a 14-year-old boy was shot and killed.
RELATED: Police searching for suspects involved in killing of 14-year-old boy on West side
July also saw the killing of Tamia Chappman's sister and two other teens.
RELATED: Tamia Chappman’s sister among 2 killed during shooting in Cleveland Saturday night
Last week, Cleveland Police investigated three separate shootings that killed two teenagers and left one injured.
A 16-year-old Glenville football player died exactly a week ago near the high school where he played.
RELATED: Community gives a call to action as they grieve 16-year-old fatally shot in Cleveland
And a 13-year-old was shot on the west side.
RELATED: 13-year-old shot on Cleveland's west side
Over the weekend from Friday to Saturday, a 17-year-old died after being shot in the head near East 185th Street.
Hours later, a 16-year-old boy was shot in the leg.
RELATED: Cleveland Police investigate 3 fatal shootings, 5 others within 12 hours
