Oklahoma City Community Leaders Tackle Gun Violence At Summit

Police lights and crime scene tape are just a few things community leader Jabee Williams said he's tired of seeing. As summer approaches, he wants to promote a season of peace and fight back against gun violence.

“I'm somebody who has been impacted and a lot of us, like I said, we all probably know someone who has been impacted. Because I've been impacted in that way, I want to make sure that I can either help those who have been impacted or prevent somebody from being impacted,” Williams said.

Community leaders from near and far shared ideas on how to prevent violence throughout the city.

“Are we more concerned about being on our own and losing the fight to end gun violence or are we more interested in figuring out how we come together,” Pastor Michael McBride said.

“We had to identify that group of individuals who was pushing the violence, find out the issue what was causing the violence,” said Shanduke McPhatter, Founder and Executive Director of the not for profit

"Gangstas Making Astronomical Community Changes."

Oklahoma City Police Department said it's always willing to engage in conversations to keep the streets safe.

“Gun violence is our biggest focus right now. The last year and a half we've really taken a different approach. We changed organizationally just about everything we do. Every Wednesday we have a meeting to discuss every shooting in the city or every incident involving a gun,” Deputy Chief Jason Clifton said.

One strategy proposed was identifying leaders in the community who could possibly convene to help decrease crime.

“The level we're seeing now is far and beyond what we've seen in past years,” Deputy Clifton said.

Williams said this was just the first of many events planned to help address gun violence in the Metro.