CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Several religious leaders, community activists and parents gathered in Kannapolis Friday afternoon to come up with a plan to curb youth violence.
The “Concord and Kannapolis Save Our Youth Community Meeting” happened following the murder of 13-year-old Aveanna Propst at Concord Mills Mall and the arrests of two teenagers accused of causing her death.
Simone Frazier organized the meeting and invited the United Neighborhoods of Charlotte to speak at the event.
"Anytime you have children that are small; that are getting killed for senseless murder, that rings a bell with anyone,” Frazier said. "I had several friends that their children were at the mall when this incident happened. I had friends that were affected by these incidents so I feel like it's time for a change in the area."Frazier hopes the meeting will spark ideas on how to prevent young people from being the victims and the perpetrators of violence.
"We're going to take our children by hand, and we're going to take our children back,” Frazier said. “We're going to get them away from the streets and put them into something positive.” Bethel Baptist Church, which is located off Dale Earnhardt Blvd., hosted the first meeting. A second meeting hasn’t been scheduled yet.
