Voices Neighborhood Council

Stop the Violence in Vermont Square Park

Voices NC Response to the Vermont Square Shooting on 5/14/19

Imagine your children playing on a cool summer evening on the swings, slides and jungle gyms of a public park. Then a shooter stops alongside the playground and opens fire into a crowd of playing children.
 
Yesterday evening after our Neighborhood Council meeting, shots were fired from 47th street into the children playing in our Vermont Square Park playground.  Kids ran screaming towards us.  A sound no one should ever hear, and a horror we will never forget.  The sound of children screaming for their life, right here, just last night.  Our children gunned down in our neighborhood playground.
 
Tragically this horrific scene is too familiar in South LA. According to the Los Angeles Times (05/14/2019, “5-year old girl among four people shot near Vermont Square Park”) in the past 3 months, Vermont Square Neighborhood averaged 15.5 violent crimes and 24.1 property crimes per week. Eight (8) people have been killed in the neighborhood in the past 12 month and this rate is higher than nearby Historic South-Central, South Park, and Florence neighborhoods. These numbers do not include the Vermont-Slauson neighborhood of LA, which is also within the Voices NC boundaries.
 
The Voices Neighborhood Council calls for action to protect our community, to ensure safe spaces for kids to play, and to address the mental health of individuals, young and old, who experience violence related trauma.
 
We will reach out and partner with local law enforcement, Councilman Curren D. Price, Jr.’s office, local businesses, community-based organizations and schools to develop a comprehensive strategy to eradicate gun violence in our community.
 
Finally, the Voices Neighborhood Council stands in solidarity with our neighbors, friends, brothers and sisters to get involved, be engaged, and let your voice be heard.  Our vision of a healthy community, free of these acts of violence and destruction can be a reality.