City unveils gang prevention plan same day as deadly, gang-related shooting

One man is dead, five other people are hurt, and the alleged gunman in the Wednesday mass shooting that Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry said is gang-related, is on the run.

This investigation is playing out as the mayor, sheriff and state attorney released a new plan to crack down on gang violence.

It's all outlined in a newly released 36-page strategy, which states that while the overall crime rate is down, JSO has had to investigate more instances of homicides, aggravated assaults and other violence in 2017.

REPORT: Comprehensive gang reduction strategy

JSO says the number of homicides in 2018 closely paralleled 2017.

The city says gangs are largely to blame.

Local student Andrea Moran Melendez said the initiative is what the city needs.  After all, she saw violence firsthand.

PHOTOS: SUV that dropped off 6 people at hospital after deadly Jacksonville mass shooting 

STORY: Mass shooting reported on Emerson Street, Jacksonville police say

STORY: Targeted shooting leaves one man dead, five injured

“I used to grow up in one of those communities, and we don’t get a lot of support from the outside,” Melendez said.

The report centers around three keys to stopping gangs: The city’s investment in three state-of-the-art initiatives to help JSO, help from John Jay College -- a national leader in gang violence prevention -- and the State Attorney’s Office Targeted Prosecution Unit.

That unit is dedicated to putting away violent offenders and those who are likely to follow suit.

But Action News Jax Law and Safety Expert Dale Carson, who has years of experience dealing with gangs, said community leaders and defense attorneys should have been consulted in the city’s report.

“It’s not fancy words in a report, it’s getting down and dirty, meaning going in the communities, being respectful of the people that are there, and help you solve the problems,” Carson said.

Cox Media Group