President of Wilmington City Council calls for action to end gun violence
WILMINGTON, Delaware (WPVI) -- Wilmington city leaders are speaking out, calling for an end to gun violence after a 17-year-old boy was shot and killed on the 800 block of North Pine Street.
"We got to come together and come up with solutions and if it doesn't work, let's try another solution," said Hanifa Shabazz, President of Wilmington City Council. "I just could not do nothing."
Shabazz suggested corporations and community organizations work together on the issue.
The most recent Wilmington police data only goes through July 26 but it shows 90 people have been shot, a 64 percent increase compared to last year. Of those victims, 27 were juveniles, which is a 170 percent jump from last year.
Sharrieff Stewart Harring lost her 23-year-old daughter, Alexus Cumberbatch - known by her friends as Little Lex - in a quadruple shooting on Beech Street two weeks ago.
"She got caught in a crossfire," said Stewart Harring. "It didn't have anything to do with her. She was just at the wrong place at the wrong time."
Stewart Harring said her daughter was incredibly intelligent, on the Dean's List and had her own business.
"She wouldn't go to the store without her lashes and her makeup, she just had to do the most at all times," said Stewart Harring. "Lex just had to be Lex, so there's nobody like her. We'll never get another Lex."
She says she's still looking for answers to her daughter's death.
Shabazz said people in the community need to put the guns down and come together to make the area stronger.
"When you hurt, you want others to hurt and that's what's happening in our community so healing is necessary," said Shabazz.
