Following a week when another young person in the community lost their life to gun violence, Lycoming County Commissioner Scott Metzger urged the cooperation of local leaders to help “identify and develop strategies and solutions together.”

“A beautiful summer afternoon, we have kids swimming in the public pool, and we have youth over in the park…unfortunately we hear the sounds of gunfire. This is all too common now, not acceptable…a life lost, two other lives injured, and a family shattered,” said of the incident which took place near Memorial Park.

“We’d like to send our condolences out to the family of the individual and the friends of the individual that was lost,” Metzger said.

Referencing statements made by District Attorney Tom Marino and Williamsport City Mayor Derek Slaughter, Metzger said that the commissioners had “sat and observed those statements.”

“The commissioners have been proactive on this. We had a town meeting here a few weeks ago, and we feel that we need to bring everybody to the table to try to reduce the violence in our community. We had a great evening that night, and this room was overflowing with people,” Metzger said.

He explained that the commissioners had also met with local school superintendents, the judge who handles juvenile crime, both the juvenile and adult probation departments and the city police and mayor, on June 23 which he characterized as a “very good meeting.”

“We’re not having meetings just to have meetings. We’re having meetings to develop a plan,” Metzger said.

“Our ultimate goal is to prevent crime by and against juveniles, but in order to achieve that, we need a comprehensive picture that shows accurate information about the causes, nature, and extent of juvenile delinquency and victimization We understand gun violence impacts all the communities, and being worried about gun violence is a very valid fear,” he said.

Metzger urged residents to secure firearms, especially in light of the fact that 25 guns were stolen from automobiles in the city.

Going forward, Metzger said that the county is looking to partner with the state Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD) Office of Gun Violence Prevention and that the stakeholders have already started conversations with them with a goal of applying for funding to help host strategic planning sessions to address the youth and gun violence.

“When we combine both public health and public safety approaches, we’ll do so and these planning sessions will begin bringing together community leaders, law enforcement, school districts, criminal justice stakeholders, health care workers, and youth to clarify and define the issues our county is exploring. We will compile all the data and look at what’s causing the violence, and together we’ll build a clear plan with proven intervention strategies,” he said.

Metzger added that the commissioners will keep residents up to date on how they can get involved.