---------- Forwarded message --------- From: City of Pittsburgh <pressrelease@pittsburghpa.gov> Date: Thu, Jun 24, 2021 at 5:13 PM Subject: Pittsburgh Police, ATF, Community Partners, and Families of Victims Address Spike in Gun Violence in Pittsburgh To: <hpccpgh@gmail.com> *Published:* 06.24.2021 *Contact:* Cara Cruz Public Information Officer Public Safety cara.cruz@pittsburghpa.gov Pittsburgh Police, ATF, Community Partners, and Families of Victims Address Spike in Gun Violence in Pittsburgh (PITTSBURGH, PA) -- The Pittsburgh Bureau of Police today addressed the marked escalation in the number of homicides and non-fatal shooting incidents in the City of Pittsburgh this year. Public Safety Director Wendell Hissrich, members of Police command staff, Gun Violence Intervention (GVI), representatives from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Community Outreach members, and families of gun violence victims gathered at the Center for Victims on E. Carson Street. Year-to-date there have been 31 homicides, compared with 20 homicides at the same time in 2020. There have been 76 non-fatal shootings since January. "I'm tired of going out to scenes and seeing families and communities grieving," said Director Hissrich. "It's going to be a long fight and it's going to be a a very hard summer for us, but I'm sure with the help of our communities and our partners, that we'll end what we're facing." Pittsburgh Police Chief Scott Schubert made an impassioned plea for the violence to stop, referencing recent cases of homicides and non-fatal shootings involving young people, including a teenager shot multiple times and killed just steps from his family home, and a six-year-old girl shot and wounded in a car. “There's so many guns on the street. No community, no zone in the City of Pittsburgh is immune. We're losing our loved ones to the senseless violence," said Chief Schubert. "This stuff has got to stop. We're going to use every partner we have to make sure that happens and we're going to work as a team. But I implore you, we need the community to help us. We cannot do this alone. We have to do it together." Matthew Varisco, ATF Special Agent in Charge from the Philadelphia Field Division, provided a snapshot of the guns used in crimes in Pittsburgh. "Of the firearms that were recovered and traced, the vast majority were pistols and they were recovered unfortunately from felons, " said Varisco. He added that approximately 75% of those firearms were purchased in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and that Pittsburgh Police are on pace to recover as many as 800 firearms this year. The ATF is creating a firearms trafficking unit in Pittsburgh, assigning two of its agents to work with Pittsburgh Police to help stem the flow of illegal guns in the city and reduce gun violence. Assistant Chief of Police Lavonnie Bickerstaff pointed to some of the challenges the COVID-19 pandemic posed in trying to support and provide resources to young people and keep them from resolving disputes with firearms. "During the pandemic, our violence prevention strategy, which has proven to be successful over the last four to five years, has been hampered to a degree because of our inability to have face-to- face contact with our young people. We were restricted from our custom notifications, we were restricted from hospital visits after shootings. We did not have the support and the mediation that we normally have from our coaches, from our teachers that help to calm down disputes before people pick up a gun and, of course, our recreation centers were closed," Bickerstaff said, adding that Police and Community Outreach workers had to retool their supportive efforts and find healthy ways to provide resources to the neighborhoods they serve. Valerie Dixon and Preeti Tuli, two mothers who lost their sons to gun violence twenty years apart, spoke about the lasting pain and the trauma caused by gun violence. Tuli's 18-year-old son Ahmir was murdered in February outside of her Strip District business. "He was a good kid. He didn't deserve it. None of these kids do," said Tuli. "We really need to come together. People need to start talking. There's tip lines. You can remain anonymous." Valerie Dixon's son Robert was shot and killed on Friday, June 25, 2001 in Lincoln-Lemington. "Twenty years later that pain is still the same. Twenty years later my friends now are people who are interrupters. People who want to stop the violence, people who work with victims. I have a whole new set of friends who have helped me heal over the years because the pain never goes," said Dixon. Pittsburgh Police are increasing patrols in active areas and will continue focusing on deterrence measures in an effort to curb gun violence. Anyone with information about a violent crime is urged to call Pittsburgh Police at (412) 323-7800. ------------------------------ . LaptopCupGreenMarker -- *Highland Park Community Council* Visit our website by clicking here. <https://hpccpgh.org/>