Now, one week later, the long-term response to this crisis seems unclear.
On Saturday, two days after Christmas, Cadarian Connell Parker, 19, was shot and killed on Houston Street on Killeenâs north side. A 5-year-old child was wounded in that same shooting.
The following day, three 18-year-old males were injured in a shooting that was caught on video in the 2700 block of Alma Drive. Shyheim Khali Matthews, 18, has been charged with three counts of aggravated assault-bodily injury with a deadly weapon in connection with that incident.
During a Monday press conference, Killeen Police Department Chief Charles Kimble stated very definitively that the incidents are gang related. Specifically, the Young Paper Chasers and the K-Town Mafia are the two gangs involved. He described these as âhybridâ gangs, without an identifiable leader and who make efforts to conceal their identity.
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In an emotional news conference on Monday, Killeen Councilmember Debbie Nash-King called for the end of gun violence in the city.
âMy top priority today is to make Killeen a safer place for our residents, especially our senior citizens and our youth, and in order to accomplish this task we must continue to promote crime prevention,â Nash-King said at the steps of Killeen City Hall, following an opening prayer by Pastor Jimmy Towers of Lifeway Fellowship.
Nash-King called the 5 p.m. press conference, which was also attended by several city officials and by community leaders, in response to Saturdayâs shooting death of Cadarian Connell Parker, 19, on Houston Street on Killeenâs north side, as well as the injuring of a 5-year-old child who was wounded in that same shooting.