KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Arguments and disagreements have been the cause of many non-fatal and fatal shootings this year in Kansas City, Missouri, according to the city's police department.
The Center for Conflict Resolution says there are other ways to solve conflict with out situations turning violent.
"So, if we have a simple disagreement about what I said to you and you misinterpreted what I thought I said to you, and my first instinct is to pull out a gun or another device that will cause physical harm, that's the reality that we are living in," said Raquel McCommon, associate director at the Center for Conflict Resolution.
Still, McCommon acknowledges resolving conflict isn't easy.
"It's not a Black person problem; this is not a Latino problem; this is not a white person problem — this is an everybody problem," McCommon said.
At the Center for Conflict Resolution, McCommon says some people don’t have the skills to handle disagreements.
"The things that they have experienced have impacted them so much that they have learned to handle conflict in this way," she said.
McCommon says these situations often impact the youth of KCMO.
"Some kids struggle with receiving this, and sometimes that is a language barrier, and sometimes that's just — I'm in survival mode, and I can't receive learning right now because of what happened to my brother or cousin down the street last night that I'm still grappling with," McCommon said.
According to the Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department, on June 14, 2024, there were 66 homicides compared to 82 homicides at the same time last year.
However, when it comes to non-fatal shootings, there have been 276 as of June 14, 2024, compared to 210 non-fatal shootings as of June 14, 2023.
McCommon says this number can decrease by starting with one simple step — taking a deep breath.
“Being able to assess and observe, what am I seeing? What am I hearing? What are my resources?" McCommon said. "What are my resources? Who can I call? What can help make this feel safer? And what can also help the people involved feel deescalated and get what they need?"
—
