BY IRIS B. HOLTON
Sentinel City Editor

Within the last two weeks, four African American males have died from gunshot wounds. Additionally, seven others have survived shootings.

Last Thursday, a capacity crowd gathered at the Chloe Coney Urban Center for a “Stop The Gang And Gun Violence” Task Force meeting. Ernest Coney, Jr., Interim Executive Director of the Corporation to Develop Communities of Tampa, Inc., (CDC of Tampa, Inc.), said “We had a very diverse group of between 150 and 200 people. The people came from all walks of life and it really went well.

“We had some youths who came and were able to provide information from a different perspective. They talked about their issues such as other youths representing certain neighborhoods that cause a lot of conflict, certain songs that are played at parties that cause conflict, and some even admitted that they are afraid to go out into their own neighborhoods.”

He further stated that those in attendance then broke into smaller groups. Each group was asked to develop 3 focus areas for future attention. “We are going to compile that information and get it back to the community within two weeks,” he said.

Coney decided to call the meeting to form a task force after 17-year-old John Singleton, Jr., was killed on October 29th, while attending a party.

Singleton had participated in the organization’s Youth Leadership Program for the past 3 years. At the time of his death, he was a junior at Tampa Bay Technical High School, and maintained a grade point average of 2.98 with honors and college prep classes. Singleton was also the Historian for the CDC of Tampa Youth Leadership Club (Teens).

In addition to Singleton, Hipolito Padilla, III, 25, was killed on November 5th, during a robbery; Jamarie Hodges, 16, was killed in front of his home attempting to help a friend; and 39-year-old Charon Shaw died on November 9th, during a domestic dispute.