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After one of the city's most violent weeks in recent memory, religious and political leaders are calling the community together to discuss ways to reduce street crime among young people.

The Rev. Earlene Coleman (right), pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church, Downtown, has organized the public meeting, scheduled for 8 tonight at the corner of Brownlee and Ohio streets, at the Sen. James R. Brewster Recreation Center.

Mayor Michael Cherepko, city Administrator Matt Gergely, police Chief Bryan Washowich and other officials have announced plans to attend.

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The Versailles Avenue area has been ground-zero for much of the violence. July was only a few hours old when Chauncey Williams, 18, of Duquesne was shot to death as he sat on the porch of a home along Union Avenue.

Three days later, on July 4, two young men burglarizing a house on Stewart Street were surprised by a resident. She was shot in the hand by one of the burglars, who then exchanged gunfire with police responding to a call for help.

A suspect wanted for questioning in that shooting, Aaron Gardner, 17, surrendered to police last night, a spokesman said.

Two days later, on July 6, two men were shot only 20 minutes apart on Versailles and Union avenues. Those separate incidents left a 20-year-old and a 17-year-old gravely wounded.


View Street shootings, July 1-7, 2012 in a larger map

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Cherepko encouraged all concerned citizens, including members of city council, to attend Coleman's meeting. The rally isn't just about addressing the events that have taken place, he said, but rather "about curbing the violence at its roots."

"In many cases, these are individuals I knew as an educator in the school district," said Cherepko, a former McKeesport Area school teacher, who added that he knows of families who have thrown celebrations because a child reached his 20s. "It's depressing when you know there are kids who don't expect to live to be even 40 or 50," he said.

Police have stepped up patrols in the Versailles, Union and Bailie avenue areas and in some cases have officers walking foot patrols, Cherepko said. Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala Jr. has also offered assistance, and police are clamping down on young people under age 18 who violate the city's 10 p.m. nightly curfew.

"Your police department is working very diligently to curb the violence," Cherepko said.

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But city police themselves have been shot at in several recent incidents, and city Councilwoman V. Fawn Walker-Montgomery said increased police visibility alone is unlikely to scare young men who want to shoot one of their rivals.

"I don't understand the mentality that makes you want to kill somebody, but I can kind of understand where it comes from, and these kids are not scared of anything at this point," said Walker-Montgomery, who has frequently talked about the need to address street violence, especially in the city's Seventh and Eighth wards.

The violence is a "community-wide" problem and needs to be addressed by everyone in the community, she said.

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