Community members rally to end violence

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) -  In 2012, there were 22 homicides in Fort Wayne.

"We see increasingly that the victims of these homicides are young men involved in gangs, involved with drugs, and all of them almost were with guns, and we just can’t tolerate that anymore," the Chief of the Fort Wayne Police Department, Rusty York, said.

Police said the number is about average for the city, but it has spurred community leaders to take a more active and public role in ending violence.

Bishop Malcolm Howell of Harvest Word of Life Church organized Saturday's meeting to get community members together to make a better Fort Wayne.

"I’ve been here all my life, and I’ve seen the culture of the community change, and I’ve seen the violence, experienced it in my own family, done funerals for young guys," Howell said.

He said the plan moving forward is to look at how other cities across the country are attacking this problem and tailor it to Fort Wayne.

"We’ve got to work together to curtail violence and senseless killings in our city," Howell said.

There will be a follow up meeting at noon on January 19 at Harvest Word of Life Church located at 2260 Lake Ave in Fort Wayne.