LANSING, Mich — "We've got a real big gun problem on the streets right now," say community advocates in Lansing who are speaking out after a violent weekend that involved four shootings.
- The Mikey23 Foundation and Advanced Peace are working to break the cycle of gun violence targeting Lansing's youth.
- Advanced Peace members were present at shooting scenes and the hospital to support victims and prevent retaliatory violence.
- Community leaders emphasize the need for better dialogue between youth and adults to address root causes of violence.
WATCH: How Lansing community groups are fighting to reduce youth gun violence
I'm in Lansing, where the Mikey23 Foundation and Advanced Peace, both gun violence advocate groups, are sharing their plan to break the cycle of gun violence, specifically targeting the city's youth.
"Let's bridge that gap between youth and adults. Why doesn't the youth want to come and talk to us and tell us what the problem is, so they don't go out and shoot another kid?" said LaToya Burnette, the president of the SMACK Organization.
Burnette has partnered with the Mikey23 Foundation to break the cycle of gun violence.
"To take the guns out of their hands and give them hammers to build their community back up," Burnette said.
This mission for the community comes after a string of weekend shootings in Lansing.
And they aren't just words. Police Chief Rob Backus said community violence intervention groups were on scene quickly after the shots were fired.
"One thing that was reported to me repeatedly throughout the weekend was how prominent Advanced Peace membership was at all scenes. There was one person who told me at the hospital after our 15-year-old victim was transported there that there was 10 of their members, that is a large group just to support victims, family members, and friends, to make sure people are processing this and preventing the next shooting," Backus said.
I met Aaron Blankenburg, who works with Advanced Peace.
"As soon as you hear a kid gets shot, you automatically know it's tragic," Blankenburg said.
He says he spends his days talking to kids to get them on the right path... and through his advocacy has learned this is ultimately a community problem.
"In our neighborhoods, we need to be having a different talk, a different dialogue. It's definitely a people problem, not any city officials," Blankenburg said.
I've linked resources to advocacy groups below.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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