JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Back-to-back shootings left multiple people dead across northeast Florida this week.
An 18-year-old was killed Tuesday night after a triple shooting in Green Cove Springs.
Police identified the man as Skyler Shane Townsend.
Another 18-year-old, Devon Gregory, was shot and killed in an officer-involved shooting on San Juan Avenue.
On Thursday morning, police said a drive-by shooting at a westside hotel sent two teenagers to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Youth centers across northeast Florida, such as the MaliVai Washington Youth Foundation, said it is fighting gangs to keep young people off the streets and out of crime.
MaliVai Just opened a new teen center in Durkeeville in September that serves middle and high school students.
The executive director, Terri Florio, said poverty and single-family households are part of the reason kids wind up involved in crime. She said there’s also not enough after-school programs.
The teen center serves about 180 students. Because of the pandemic, Florio said they’ve had to keep enrollment down. She hopes to double those numbers by spring.
“It’s very devastating to hear about children getting involved in gangs — especially the shootings and the ones that result in death,” she told Action News Jax’s Robert Grant. “I think if we knew what 100% was at the core of the problem, it would be a lot easier to solve. But I think there’s a lot.”
Paul Martinze, the president and CEO of the Boys & Girls Club in northeast Florida, said there is a gap of resources offered to underserved youth.
He estimated about 115,000 Duval County students come from underserved populations. Of all the area organizations, they serve about 15,000 students, leaving another 100,000 that still don’t have a place to go.
“All those together we’re just not reaching enough ,” Martinze said.
The Boys & Girls Club also opened a teen center providing resources to serve students after school and help get them to military, trade or college programs after high school graduation.