KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Gun violence continues to claim lives in Kansas City, Missouri, and advocates vow to fight the growing problem.
“It’s a community problem," Rosilyn Temple, with KC Mother's in Charge, said. "When is it going to stop? Here we are in 2022 and we still having homicides within a couple of hours apart.”
It comes as KCMO has seen another week filled with violence.
On Sunday, four other people were shot near downtown KCMO.
Two others were killed early Monday morning in separate incidents. A third was killed on Monday afternoon.
Police also found a man shot to death inside a home on Wednesday afternoon.
On Thursday morning, a manwas found shot and killed on a sidewalk at east 51st Street and Lawn Avenue.
Homicide scenes are familiar to Temple who has been comforting grieving families since 2013.
“When people see me, they know it’s death," she said.
Temple founded KC Mother's in Charge after her son was murdered in 2011. The group works to reduce violent crime through prevention, education, and intervention.
“I didn’t realize it was this bad, I didn’t until I started being a part of my community come out and going to homicide scenes, trying to do something, trying to save a life," she said. "It is bad. It is really bad.”
Recent numbers from Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department record 77 homicides as of July 7.
The number matches the homicide rate in 2021, but a decrease from 99 in 2020 at this time.
The city of KCMO has also tried to address violent crime. Aim4Peace is a program by the Kansas City Health Department focused on reversing violence in the city.
According to a department spokesperson, three staff members respond to calls from University Health and Research Medical Center and meet victims of violent trauma or their families while in the hospital.
Some of the services provided include working with survivors of violence, conflict intervention, identifying people at risk of future violence and community resources for people impacted by violence.
Temple said she is tired of the crime, but she's not giving up on her goal of safer streets.
"If I quit now, what good is it going to do for me or my son Antonio that I lost at the age of 26? What would he want his momma to do? I’m going to keep on fighting," Temple said.
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