SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) — Syracuse leaders, law enforcement officials and community advocates gathered at city hall Tuesday to raise a Gun Violence Awareness Month flag, honoring victims and survivors, while emphasizing the city’s ongoing efforts to reduce gun violence.
Mayor Sharon Owens officially proclaimed June as Gun Violence Awareness Month in Syracuse during the ceremony. The event brought together representatives from the Mayor’s Office to Reduce Gun Violence, the Syracuse Police Department, Onondaga County District Attorney’s Office, Moms Demand Action, Mothers Against Gun Violence and local faith leaders.
The ceremony also highlighted several initiatives aimed at reducing violence in Syracuse, including community outreach programs, intervention efforts and partnerships between law enforcement and local organizations designed to prevent violence before it occurs.
The event comes as Syracuse Police continue to investigate several recent shootings, including multiple homicide cases over the past two months and a non-fatal shooting involving a 15-year-old girl.
Despite those incidents, officials said long-term trends show progress.
“Our numbers are reducing,” Owens said. “But everyone behind me and everyone out here realizes that those statistics don’t mean anything if we wake up the next morning and another person has died from gun violence.”
Owens said those improvements are the result of collaboration between city government, law enforcement agencies, community organizations and neighborhood leaders working toward the same goal.
“We won’t be satisfied until there is not one murder or harmed person due to guns,” Owens said.
Police Chief Mark Rusin said Syracuse’s five-year gun violence trends continue to move in a positive direction, even though individual months can fluctuate.
“Our five-year trends are significantly down and that’s really important to me,” Rusin said. “What you’re trying to do is drop the five-year, 10-year baseline and continue to drive it down.”
Rusin said reducing violence requires more than traditional policing, pointing to partnerships with community organizations and intervention programs that work directly with people most at risk of becoming victims or offenders.
One of those efforts is the city’s “Peace in the Streets” mobile outreach initiative, which Lateef Johnson-Kinsey said has expanded this year. The program brings therapists, outreach workers, food, activities and other resources directly into neighborhoods affected by violence.
The mobile unit is expected to visit schools and areas that have experienced recent shootings, connecting residents with trauma-informed counseling and support services through partnerships with organizations, including the Salvation Army.
“It lets people know that we’re here,” Johnson-Kinsey said. “That somebody sees them. We see the importance of you living and being alive.”
Johnson-Kinsey said the city’s approach focuses on reaching high-risk individuals before violence occurs, using outreach, counseling, employment opportunities and other support services to help people make different choices.
“When we look at data, that’s what we’re seeing,” Johnson-Kinsey said. “Those who are being helped, those who are being assisted, those who have been given what I call a better pathway, they’re less likely to go back and do gun violence again.”
City officials said Gun Violence Awareness Month activities will continue throughout June with outreach efforts, community engagement and prevention programs aimed at supporting residents and reducing violence across Syracuse.