TAMPA, Fla. — Tampa Police Chief Lee Bercaw is calling on the community to work harder together to curb teen gun violence.
It comes after a 13-year-old was arrested for allegedly shooting a 15-year-old last week.
According to police, it happened on Sept. 7 along North Nebraska Avenue.
The victim and an acquaintance were reportedly walking to 7-Eleven when they ran into another group of boys. Police said the 13-year-old suspect shot the victim twice as he walked in the median, and the 15-year-old returned fire. The 13-year-old was arrested nearby on Sunday. Police said he was found with a handgun with one round in the chamber. Bercaw said that gun was stolen from a car nearby.
"That's something we've been saying over and over again is to lock your car," said Bercaw. "And if you have any valuables, take them out — especially a firearm. The last thing you would want is to leave a gun in a car unlocked and find out a 13-year-old got it and used it in an offense."
Police said both teens were injured in the shooting but are expected to be OK.
"I want the community to know how seriously my office takes juvenile gun violence. We are focused on making sure these juveniles are held accountable," State Attorney Suzy Lopez said in a statement. "We must work together as a community to educate our young men and women about making smart choices. At the same time, the public can help by keeping guns out of your cars and keeping your car doors locked."
The 13-year-old is charged with two counts of minor in possession of a weapon, two counts of carrying a concealed firearm, discharge of a firearm in public and aggravated battery with great bodily harm or deadly weapon. Police said the investigation is ongoing. The department also noted it offers a variety of programs focused on the city's young people, including the Police Athletic League (PAL), Shielding Our Teens and Bigs in Blue.
Free gun locks are also available to residents through Project Locked and Unloaded, which can be picked up at any TPD district office or police headquarters.
One organization working to prevent teen violence is Safe & Sound Hillsborough. Executive Director Freddy Barton said one of the first things teens are asked to do when they walk inside its reporting center is write a word on the "Making of a Man" poster. It's an outline of a person with words written in and around it.
"A positive individual is brave, they're honest, they're friendly, understanding," Barton said, reading words written on the poster.
Barton said teens are asked to write down a positive characteristic of a male that isn't already included in the poster and use that word throughout the day.
"The reason we do that is one, to keep putting positive messaging, and it also tends to clean their vocabulary and palate as we go through," Barton said.
Barton said positive messaging is a focus at the reporting center. He told Spectrum Bay News 9 most of the kids who come to Safe & Sound are court-ordered. During the past year, that's included those arrested on gun-related offenses.
"It's all about experiential learning and understanding what got you here and what we can do to prevent this from happening even further, right? So, taking them to trauma centers, taking them to morgues, taking them to funeral homes," said Barton.
Barton said they’ve had 23 youths ordered to the Youth Gun Offender Program from October 2022 to July 2023 with 14 currently enrolled to Safe & Sound's gun offender program since January.
They work with them for six months, then monitor them for another six months to make sure they're not committing any new offenses and help them work to get off probation. He said the center works with ten-to-15 kids in its programs everyday, and there's a constant stream of young people entering the system.
"The worst part about it is to see how young these kids are now," Barton said. "We're talking 13, 14, 15 years of age, getting their hands on weapons, getting their hands on firearms."
He said the biggest challenge is educating the community about how to help prevent violence. Like Bercaw and Lopez, Barton stressed the importance of not leaving guns in unlocked cars. He also said Safe & Sound is getting ready to launch several new initiatives, including with TPD, to provide more supports to the community. In the meantime, the work to get young people back on a positive path continues.
Barton encouraged the public to come out to a community forum being held by Hillsborough County Commissioner Gwen Myers on Sept. 13. He said it will address a number of topics, including gun violence.
"Law enforcement can't fix the problem by themselves, the school district can't, Safe & Sound can't. No one organization can do it. Only when we come together can we actually get the real solutions out there," Barton said.
Barton said that meeting is being held at Greater Bethel Missionary Baptist Church on N. Jefferson St. from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.