Pueblo police: Tackling gang violence includes police, community
Pueblo police said tackling the growing gang problem isn’t just a police issue, it’s a community one. There have been three possible gang-related shootings in as many days.
Patrice Morris constantly worries about the ongoing gang violence on the city’s eastside.
“Some parents don’t even want to bring their kids to the park because of the gang activity and the drive bys,” said Morris, a single mother of two.
Nearly every night, she hears gunshots from her home, near Mitchell Park.
“The other night I was watching a movie with my son and we heard five or six little gunshot rounds go off and then a big gunshot blast,” Morris said.
Police teamed up with the FBI’s Safe Streets Task Force to curb the violence, but they need help from the community.
“The perception is that the police somehow have control over that, and the reality is that this is a community effort and it takes everybody,” said Capt. Charlie Taylor.
It’s a message that former gang member Mark Salazar is trying to spread.
“People can play the blame game all they want you know because it’s so much easier to blame other people than to take accountability,” Salazar said.
He told KRDO NewsChannel 13 that parks, school and even libraries are all places where gang members go to recruit kids.
Instead of standing by to watch, he now leads a gang prevention program.
“What we’re trying to do is trying to encourage these individuals to think for themselves,” Salazar said.
Morris believes stopping the violence starts with good parenting.
“I think that some families need to watch their kids a lot more because I come to the park cause there’s just kids without parents that shouldn’t have no supervision,” Morris said.
Recruits from the police department are hosting a gang and drug prevention program Friday. It starts at 4:30 p.m. at Risley Middle School. It’s part of the recruit’s Problem Based Learning Exercise community project. They will have guest speakers, including Salazar, who will raise awareness of the negative effects that gangs and drugs have on families and the community.
