'It put a toll on me': Philadelphia students share impact of gun violence with Pa. attorney general
SOUTH PHILADELPHIA - Kids under the age of 18 make up about 10 percent of gun violence victims in Philadelphia. A group of Philadelphia school children spoke directly to the Pennsylvania’s attorney general Friday about their fears over continuing gun violence.
The numbers are grim: 199 Philadelphia students shot in the last school year, 33 killed. In a School District of Philadelphia auditorium, nearly two dozen students sat across from Pennsylvania’s attorney general to speak of their lives in a time of near unrelenting violence.
Zahkir Williamson attends Frankford High School. He said he’s been shot at twice in his life. Williamson said, "It put a toll on me mentally. If you think about it, it’s sad."
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Attorney General Michelle Henry is meeting with students across the commonwealth to hear how gun violence impacts their mental health and their well-being. Henry plans to produce a report with recommendations but was pressed on what the law enforcement agency she leads is doing to stop the violence. She argued, "We’ve been very aggressive on straw purchasing, very aggressive on ghost guns. It’s important that we utilize the laws that are on the books and hold people accountable."
Henry said she’d like stronger gun laws, like the reporting of lost and stolen weapons recently rejected in the state house, background checks for buying long guns at gun shows and a red flag law pulling firearms from people in crisis.
The Philadelphia school district’s head of school safety said he plans to add seven more schools to the 13 with "safe path" plans for kids coming and going to classes. Keven Bethel argued, "No child in America and in Philadelphia should have to be going to school and feel hopeless that we can’t do anything about violence. We’re adults. If we can’t stop it, then who does?"
Meeting with reporters after the roundtable, the students said they know kids who’ve been gunned down and say there’s fear in just trying to make it to school and back.
Kyla Early attends The High School for Creative and Performing Arts in Philadelphia. She said, "It’s really always an ‘I love you’, really always give me a hug when you leave home because, on that train ride to school and back, you never know what can happen."