CHARLOTTE, N.C. — There’s been an uptick in violent crimes in Charlotte.
So far, this year there have been 63 homicides compared to 58 in 2018.
On Thursday night, dozens of people from different religious backgrounds came together with one common goal.
They’re calling it “bridging the difference,” talking about solutions to the growing violent crime problem in the city.
CMPD brought religious leaders into the discussion on crime rates so they could work together to come up with ways to engage with at-risk community members.
“We need to come into our communities and into our cities and love our neighbors and be proactive rather than reactive,” said Sam Bathea.
“Is anybody really listening to their stories and their heart and what caused them to be in this predicament? I don’t think anybody just comes out as a bad person,” added Mike Slaughter.
On Monday, two men were killed in a shooting in southeast Charlotte. That was less than a week after a man opened fire in a Steak ‘n Shake during the lunch rush, killing 1 person and injuring another.
Police Chief Kerr Putney recently criticized the use of electronic monitoring devices, especially for violent repeat offenders.
“As far as repeat offenders, I think the numbers speak for themselves there’s work to do but we have partners now who are coming to the table to make Charlotte a safer city working on these repeat violent offenders,” he said at the event. He also stressed coming up with solutions ahead of the RNC in 2020, when people will flock to the city.