Warren's Mayor, administration working to reduce gun violence

WARREN, Ohio - A rash of gun violence is gripping Warren with several shootings, one of them deadly, in just the last few days.
Parents told 21 News they're reluctant to allow their kids to play outdoors in fear they might be struck by gun fire.
Most of the gun violence sharing a common theme, they are teenagers. City leaders say there needs to be a plan to put cameras in hot spots of the city to deter violence and communicate directly with at-risk youth.
"We always see this seasonal uptick but that's not an excuse for us not to take appropriate action," Mayor Doug Franklin said to 21 News Tuesday evening.
"I'm going to ask these young people perpetuating these acts of violence to please put these guns down," Franklin said. "They can only do you harm and your community harm."
Mayor Doug Franklin met Tuesday morning with Chief Merkel and his staff regarding the recent violence in the city, something he does regularly when violent crime occurs.
"We had a two hour meeting to talk about strategies and how they would respond to this," Franklin said. "Because this is not acceptable."
Thousands of dollars of ARP funds are going to crime reduction but the mayor says they also plan to update technology for their police department by adding more surveillance cameras around town.
Franklin said body cameras on police officers may also contribute to lowering the gunfire stats.
"Not only in these neighborhood where they're high crime incidents but also throughout the city," Franklin explained.
Mayor Franklin said his administration plans to be aggressive with taking illegal guns off of the streets.
"We have a $218,000 grant for technology that we can use for prevention of violent crimes and crime against property and persons," Franklin said. "We have a responsibility to our citizens to try and keep everybody safe."
If you have any information regarding these shootings, contact Warren Police at (330) 841-2512.