CUYAHOGA COUNTY, Ohio — In Cuyahoga County, officials are seeing a surge in juveniles charged with murder, along with those killed, compared to years past.
Judy Martin lost her son to gun violence more than 20 years ago.
“Chris and another friend were just sitting in the car and then this guy got in and shot Chris,” she said.
Since then, she's been doing everything she can to stop the violence, including creating her own group, Survivor Victims of Tragedy.
“We have to find a way to make it safe again for our kids,” Martin said.
Years later, Cuyahoga County prosecutor Michael O’Malley has only seen an increase in juveniles charged with murder.
“Well, last year we were hitting historic highs,” O’Malley said.
In 2021, 22 juveniles were charged with homicide, compared to 2022, when 35 juveniles were charged with homicide.
“It will forever change their lives, and it's tragic when we have victims of this type of violence, and it's equally tragic that people are going to throw away their lives when they engage in this type of conduct,” O’Malley said.
Case Western Reserve University professor Daniel Flannery began the Center for Gun Violence Prevention research; he believes a few things are causing the surge.
“Partly due to the sheer access and availability of guns,” Flannery said. “People being out of school for long periods of time and not having access to out-of-school programs and connections to other support services.”
To help curb that violence are organizations like Myesha Watkin’s, Cleveland Peace Makers Alliance.
“We should not have more funerals than graduations, that we need to have more people feeling safe to thrive and to live in our communities,” Watkins said.
They have multiple programs that connect students to resources to help them cope with their emotions without violence.
“The young people are exhausted. They're tired of burying their friends. They're dealing with stress and grief in a way that nobody understands,” Watkins said.
Flannery said it will take more than one organization to curb the violence in our community.
“So, the things that tend to work are the collaborative, long-term efforts between members of the community,” Flannery said.
Martin just hopes the community's efforts will help more parents from knowing her pain.
“Makes me very sad,” Martin said. “Reach out to your sons and daughters before they make that decision. Don't let anger over resolving the so-called slight escalate into a bullet.”
We've been following violence at CMSD schools for months now.
Last month, a student was possibly targeted in a shooting outside Collinwood High School. In January, an 18-year-old student was shot and killed at a bus stop near his school John Adams High School.
Back in September, a 16-year-old was shot near Rhodes High School, where he was a student. Just one month before that, another 16-year-old was shot to death near Glenville High School.
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