PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, Md. — A work group charged with addressing gun violence in Prince George's County met for the first time for what will be a year-long study into an array of issues including juvenile crime, mental health, and violence in schools.
Members of the Gun Violence Study Workgroup, made of up county officials and community members, voiced their concerns about the recent violence.
"Our young folks seem to use this as their first choice of conflict resolution – it's to grab a gun and pull the trigger," Bladensburg Police Chief Tyrone Collington Sr. told the group as he referenced a triple shooting in District Heights. According to Prince George's County Police, 19-year-old Anthony Ward III was killed and two others were hurt in Monday's shooting on the 5400 block of Marlboro Pike.
The creation of the work group was a result of a resolution proposed by District 7 Councilmember Krystal Oriadha. The members are set to meet once a month for the next year, and after the final meeting, they are expected to present a report with recommendations to the Prince George's County Council and executive.
"Obviously the County Council and the county executive, we cannot change state legislation. We do have the ability to support and push legislation when we sit as general assembly," Oriadha said.
As a part of the first meeting, Deputy Chief Zachary O'Lare with the Prince George's County Police Department presented firearm data.
A map presented by O'Lare showed the "hot spots" for gun violence in the county with the greatest number of cases along the border between Prince George's and D.C. – particularly along the southeast quadrant of the District.
According to police, since June 4, non-fatal shootings are down 16% this year compared to last. O'Lare said so far there have been 106 of these incidents compared to 126 during the same time in 2023.
The data also showed that armed carjackings are down 25% with 123 cases and 164 during the same time last year.
However, armed robberies have increased so far this year with 289 cases this year and 265 during the same time last year.
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"The total number of homicides that we have in the county this year, gun used and without a gun used, we are at 48. Of the 48, there's only six juvenile victims. So a lot of our homicides we see, probably around 80-to-90% are adults," O'Lare added.
The group decided areas of focus that will be addressed throughout the year including gun violence involving youth.
Prince George's Police data shows that so far this year 39, people under 18 have been arrested for gun related crimes in Prince George's County. In 2023, a total of 99 juveniles were arrested for these crimes.
Among the members advocating for change was Juanita Agnew. Her son, Jayz Agnew, 13, was shot and killed in 2022 while he was raking leaves outside of their Hillcrest Heights home. Prince George's County police have not identified a suspect or made an arrest in this case.
"As a concerned mom and a concerned citizen of Prince George's, I really appreciate the comprehensive effort that is being put forward to come to the table to finding solutions to this problem," Agnew told the group.
The work group is set to meet again on July 17.