A day-long forum took place Thursday aimed at tackling the epidemic of youth gun violence plaguing communities across South Florida.
The "Goals NOT Guns" forum partnered community members with leaders on the federal, state and local level. The forum came in the wake of two more youth shootings this past week.
On Tuesday, 17-year-old Roderick Sweeting, a gifted student who excelled in sciences, was killed just steps away from his front door on Northwest 25th Avenue in Miami Gardens. He's the second child his mother has lost to gun violence.
Just a few hours later, another teen, 16-year-old Osmand Falls, was shot and killed in Little Havana. A 15-year-old boy has been arrested in Fall's shooting.
The forum aimed to develop comprehensive policy priorities to end this deadly epidemic of youth gun violence.
It's an epidemic Aaron Willis, one of the guest speakers, knows all too well, "All I heard was shots and I heard a couple bullets fly by my head."
One of those bullets hit Willis in his back, leaving him faced with the possibility of never walking again. It was December of 2012 and he was just 15, walking home with some friends when he was shot.
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Luther Campbell, a former hip-hop artist, is the co-founder of a Liberty City youth program. He said city leaders need to team up with more youth organizations and bring more programs and mentors to inner city youths.
"It's really a no-brainer. They have the resources to work with those kids," Campbell said.
Thursday's forum featured remarks from Miami Dolphins cornerback Bobby McCain and Miami Hurricane and former NFL standout and federal agent Randal Hill.
The event took place at Miami-Dade College's Historic Tower Theater in Miami.
