COLUMBUS, Ohio — Three people were injured in three separate shootings on Tuesday. Gun violence is a problem in Columbus that city and community leaders have been trying to reduce.
That’s why they met for the Columbus City Council Public Safety Committee hearing on violence prevention & reduction programs.
"Everything that we talked about in that room is all on the prevention side,” said Rena Shak, the director of the Office of Violence Prevention.
Leaders received and gave updates on the many programs and organizations working to end gun violence throughout the city, like youth and public health programs.
"How many [shootings] have there not been because of the efforts of the people in that room? So while we're hopeful to eradicate [gun violence] completely, we are focused solely on how many we can be preventing,” said Shak.
According to data from Columbus police, this year 124 people have been killed in homicides. City Councilmember and Chair of the Public Safety Committee Emmanuel Remy said that’s why resources are important and need to be utilized.
"We want to make sure that they feel that they're supported and that we'll continue that support. Or do we need to invest more? That's really the bottom line,” said Remy.
Remy said the city has poured $7 million into violence prevention programs this year and every penny is working towards saving lives.
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