Atlanta City Council President on Youth Crime: 'We Do Have a Crisis'

KIRKWOOD — in the aftermath of a deadly shooting, it's two questions that are asked over and over: What is the city doing and is it enough?

Kirkwood happened to be the latest community to pose those questions following the Dec. 26 shooting death of Xavier Arnold. But residents of Old Fourth Ward, Summerhill, East Atlanta, Grant Park and other neighborhoods across Atlanta have all raised the same concerns following shootings and homicides those respective communities.

What has Atlantans especially concerned now is the age of some of the suspect shooters and that of juveniles connected with other serious crimes.

Those fears, were underscored by the 14-year-old suspect charged with Arnold's murder.

"The problem is not going to get better if we continue to pretend that there is no problem and that things are OK," Atlanta City Council President Caesar C. Mitchell said last week following a candlelight vigil for Arnold, a 21-year-old Army Reservist.

Mitchell himself was carjacked in front of his mother's home in 2009 by three gun-toting youths.

"We do have a crisis in our community when it comes to young people."

The focus for solutions to combat crime and address issues with juveniles has rested mainly on the Atlanta Police Department and putting more officers on the street.

But Mitchell said to address the juvenile crime factor, it will take coordinated efforts that includes not just APD, but Fulton County, the Georgia legislature, youth program advocates and Atlanta Public Schools.

Please click on the video to hear our interview.