Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Toppenish group says get tough on gangs

TOPPENISH, Wash. -- A group wanting to rid the city of gang violence called for drastic changes in laws dealing with such crime when it met with state lawmakers during a Tuesday night forum.

A crowd of more than 50 filed into the Toppenish High School performing arts hall, voicing concern about
gangs in this rural town of 9,140 people, where drive-by shootings occur at least twice a month.

City Council members, school officials, police and officials with the state Department of Social and Health Services also attended.

Having state lawmakers along with officials from various agencies attend shows the group, Community Safety Network, is gaining traction, said group leader Simon Sampson.

"It's coming together," he said. "We just need to keep getting people involved."

Gang violence last Sunday left a 20-year-old man injured in a drive-by shooting in the 500 block of East First Avenue. And last month, gang members fired a dozen shots into an upstairs apartment on F Street, striking a pregnant woman twice in the torso. Her injuries were not life-threatening and her unborn child was not struck.

In March, a drive-by shooting near where the railroad tracks intersect with Buena Way left two young men dead.

Police have documented more than 250 gang members in the city on the Yakama reservation, but many of them are from other areas.

Group members handed state Sen. Jim Honeyford, R-Sunnyside, and state Rep. Bruce Chandler, R-Granger, a list of proposed laws clamping down on gang violence.

No comments:

Post a Comment