TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — On Saturday night, the Tallahassee Police Department investigated a shooting off of Ocala Road on Tallahassee's Northwest Side that left 17 year old Kaloni Grice dead. Grice was identified as a victim through Facebook posts from friends and family.
Life Center CEO Kevin Warren who provides a space and collects data for non-profits and organizations to help at-risk youth in Tallahassee said the news of the shooting is unsettling.
"It's not heartbreaking from my position as a leader, it's all too familiar," said Warren. "So it becomes more infuriating than heartbreaking because I know for sure that it doesn't have to be this way."
Warren said to be effective, violence prevention and intervention needs to have a direct approach to youth, going out into communities and stopping violence before it hits the streets.
"There are those who are not really about that life, and they live in those environments," said Warren. "And because they live in those environments, they must develop into folks who can survive in those environments. And the survival options they have are very few."
Organizations like the Life Center have the support of Moms Demand Action, a group that advocates for gun violence victims and families. They've been working to get the Florida Legislature to provide more dollars to organizations that help intervene and prevent violence.
"We know that there are things that could be happening at the community level and the state level that could reduce the gun violence that's happening," said Beth Dumond of Moms Demand Action.
Dumond says more intervention by community based organizations is an important step to stopping the violence
"These are programs that are super effective from the community and within the community," said Dumond.
As of right now, TPD says they have not arrested anyone for Grice's murder.
