HAMMOND, La. — A 16-year-old boy who attended Hammond High School was shot and killed Saturday night following a house party in Hammond, according to Chief Jimmy Travis with the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff's Office. Chief Travis said the teen was in a car with several other teenagers who got into a shootout with another suspect.
"We hate it. It's tragic, but it's something we deal with. We deal with a lot of juvenile violence," Chief Travis said about the increase in violence involving teens.
It happened outside of a home in the St. Paul Loop neighborhood in Hammond just before midnight.
Chief Travis said a 16-year-old, two 17-year-olds, and an 18-year-old were arrested and face second-degree murder charges.
"There were over 30 rounds of casings located. We believe there were three weapons involved," Travis said.
In addition to this young life lost in Hammond, Friday the NOPD said a 17-year-old was shot and killed in Mid-City.
This comes as several community events are planned to reduce gun violence in youth.
"When you hear about children engaged in violence or a victim of violence, and as a parent, it's just disappointing," Norman E. Barnum, IV, President of the New Orleans Business Alliance said.
Barnum is participating in a NOLA Youth Gun Violence Forum being held at Dillard University Tuesday. Moderated by Demario Davis, the event will also include the Players Coalition, The HOPE Initiative, Greater New Orleans, Inc., Dillard University Center for Racial Justice, and several youth. It's an invitation-only forum to address ongoing issues related to gun violence.
"So that we can engage student-athletes in the process of creating mentorship and dealing with gun violence as a preventative measure instead of a reactive measure," Barnum said.
The goal is to have open conversations with young people and community leaders to find ways to steer kids away from violence.
"Statistics show the more education you have the less likely you are to commit a crime," Dr. Robert Harper with The HOPE Initiative said.
He will be there too. Dr. Harper helps kids from middle school to college discover and achieve their goals.
"We need help from city leaders, community leaders, business and industry leaders, lets's identify some internships, job shadowing opportunities, summer employment so we can have them on a productive positive path," Dr. Harper said.
"I think it's through education. Not necessarily school education but parents... teaching their children at a young age about violence and about their temper," Chief Travis said.
To find out more about the forum on gun violence, contact Jolie Bernard, Chief Impact Officer of The HOPE Initiative at 504-909-5650 or jolie@the-hope-initiative.org