MADISON (WKOW) -- Two deadly shootings in one Madison area prompted the alder to call a meeting about public safety. It focused on the response to gun violence in the North Grandview Commons, which houses the Harmony Apartments, where the shootings happened.
"It's clear that there's a lot of frustration and anger and fear," Senator Melissa Agard (D-Madison) said. "And those are all very fair, I think, valid emotions to be having right now."
Agard was one of many on a panel of local and state leaders working to address gun violence.
"We need to make sure that we have multiple layers of government that are collaborating and communicating with each other, supporting one another, in order to make sure that we can turn this around," Agard said. "Folks deserve better. They absolutely do."
Derek Field is the alder for the district. He invited representatives from Madison police, Madison Metropolitan School District and local organizations like Focused Interruption.
"You have to really dig deep into the root causes of what is happening and do something about it," Anthony Cooper Sr., CEO of Focused Interruption, said to the crowd.
Alder Field says Monday's meeting is to help people living at or near Harmony Apartments understand programming already available to reduce violence. But Senator Agard says she hopes hearing from people will give her a better idea of the kind of programming they would like to see in the future.
"Figuring out how it is that we're going to work together, who's going to do what and actually create attainable benchmarks so that we can turn this around. Because this has been going on for far too long," Agard said.
Elected officials say they're working with one another to address gun violence, but they need the help and input of people living in communities most affected, too. That's why meetings like this are so important to create change.
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