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Flashpoint preview: Teen violence on the rise

"We gotta make them realize, look, don't let what oughta be a fist fight, be a gunfight. It will forever change the course of your life."

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A violent week in Charlotte has local leaders speaking out.

They say something must be done, especially among teenagers.

There's been a staggering number of murders this year, already near 60, more than we saw in all of 2018.

"I know a lot of us are concerned about this."

On this week's Flashpoint, city council members Tariq Bohkari and Larken Egleston addressed the problem.

On Monday afternoon, a 17-year-old girl was shot and killed in the middle of the day. Three other teens were charged with her murder.

"We gotta make them realize, look, don't let what oughta be a fist fight, be a gunfight. It will forever change the course of your life."

A staggering number of teens are being charged with murder. In both 2016 and 2017, there were four charged with murder for the whole year. Last year, there were 13 juvenile murder suspects.

So far this year, there are now six teenagers charged with murder.

Bohkari said we need to crunch the data behind those numbers and target solutions.

"Conflict resolution is number one theme or trend that in all this data. And if we figure out where to go deploy it most effectively, that's gonna make near impacts on this."

In the longer-term, city leaders said issues like upward mobility and affordable housing are also important. The thinking is, when folks see a successful path forward, they're less likely to turn to crime.

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