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Black leaders call for more anti-violence aid after killings
By DAVE COLLINSApril 14, 2021 GMT
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) Black lawmakers and community group leaders called Wednesday for more federal and state aid for chronically underfunded anti-violence programs in Connecticut’s cities, following the killings of a 3-year-old boy and a teenager in Hartford last weekend.
Gathered outside the state Capitol, members of the legislature’s Black and Puerto Rican Caucus said during a news conference that the state has not done nearly enough over the past several decades to try to curb violence, especially among youth.
They said a lack of aid has contributed to cycles of violence in Hartford, Bridgeport, New Haven and other cities with large Black and Hispanic populations and some of the poorest neighborhoods in the country.
Chief Medical Examiner James Gill testified that homicides jumped 30% in 2020 when compared to 2019.
“I’m asking government to move out of the way and allow these people to collectively to do the work that needs to be done,” Sen. Marilyn Moore (D-Bridgeport) said.
Moore said she wants to see the money go to community nonprofits and not the police or government agencies.
“What we are seeing in our cities is a slow banal, mass killing and this state is doing almost nothing about it,” Sen. Gary Winfield said.
Winfield said it’s not just about more gun laws.
“If we want to fix the things that we see we have to first admit that policy has built us to this place,” he said.
Black leaders call for more anti-violence aid after killings
Solmary Cruz, mother of 3-year-old Randell Jones, left, mourns with family friend Jenzalee Quiroz, 17, at a candlelight vigil on Monday, April 12, 2021 in Hartford. Police said Randell Jones, 3, was riding in a car with his mother, other relatives and a man when another vehicle pulled along side them and someone opened fire on Saturday. Randell died in the shooting, which appeared to have targeted the man in the car, police said. (Brad Horrigan /Hartford Courant via AP)
A man lights candles at a vigil for Randell Jones on Monday, April 12, 2021 in Hartford. Police said Randell Jones, 3, was riding in a car with his mother, other relatives and a man when another vehicle pulled along side them and someone opened fire on Saturday. Randell died in the shooting, which appeared to have targeted the man in the car, police said. (Brad Horrigan /Hartford Courant via AP)
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