Community leaders are working on a plan to stem the surge of shootings seen in Milwaukee the last two weeks.
Fourteen people have been killed in the last 15 days. That includes two men killed Wednesday afternoon near 6th and Center.
That shooting came just hours before a strategy session on how to stop the summer violence, organized by the City of Milwaukee's Office of Violence Prevention.
"This has been some of the most violent weeks that we've had all year," said Reggie Moore, the office director.
Wednesday's meeting was part of an ongoing plan to prevent violence, called the Blueprint for Peace. But the meeting focused on a 24-day strategy, starting this weekend, that will involve community leaders and activists going into the neighborhoods most plagued by violence, and working on conflict resolution and outreach.
"We're trying to change the mindset of promoting peace and saying how do you live a lifestyle of peace," said Moore.
Telvonie Hawthorne attended the meeting Wednesday night, and says his 18-year-old son was recently shot while playing basketball at Washington Park earlier this month.
"He was almost taken away from me," said Hawthorne. "If we can get more people to sit down and talk things out, put the guns down, I think that's the goal here."
