It’s been a rough last few weeks in Bridgeport and members of the community gathered at Kolbe Cathedral High School on Tuesday morning to talk about the recent spike in gun violence and how to solve the problem.
Representatives from the community joined Mayor Bill Finch, Police Chief Joseph Gaudett Jr. and Michael Lawlor, Undersecretary for Criminal Justice for Governor Malloy’s office to discuss solutions.
“What we've learned is that if you can get state, federal and local law enforcement agencies working together with community folks, you can really have an impact on the violence and this is a beginning of a discussion about how to make that happen in Bridgeport,” Lawlor said.
The panelists agreed that the violence stems from a core nucleus of young bad actors already under police supervision, fear of talking to the cops, and of course, illegal guns on the street.
“It's the young people with illegal guns. They are out there and they have motive and opportunity. We really have to get those guns out of their hands before they have an opportunity to pull that trigger,” Gaudett said.
And it will take the entire community working together to solve the problem.
“Violence is a disease of the community. This is a community issue and all of us need to step up our game,” Finch said.
