Rep. Kathy Manning holds gun violence roundtable discussion

HIGH POINT, N.C. — High Point organizers gathered this morning for a community violence round table hosted by Congresswoman Kathy Manning (D-NC 6th District) that was rescheduled after she got in a car accident on the way to the last meeting.

“I am walking with this boot on no problems,” Manning said.

She assembled those on the front lines, dealing with violence everyday in the community.

“We’re seeing our offenders getting younger and younger, which is more disturbing right now," High Point Police Chief Travis Stroud said. "We’re talking about 13-, 14- and 15-year-olds that are committing some pretty significant acts out in the street.

Stroud detailed that although impact crimes are down on the whole, there was a 51% increase in impact crimes involving juveniles.

Many of the participants detailed that several generations have been tragically lost to violence and focus needs to be shifted to protecting young people.

“It’s a revolving door," Mother's Standing Against Gun Violence Founder Tonya Cuthbertson said. "Until we get this door closed and locked, we are going to have these same killings going on. There’s nothing that’s going to change.”

Organizers advocated for more youth interaction, especially among men, inside schools and churches, citing the successes of initiatives like National Night Out.

Attendees said there needs to be more mental health resources available across the board and more investment in grassroots work.

“I can be helpful with funding," Manning said. "I can also be helpful with understanding what the needs are as I consider legislation that I want to introduce or legislation that I want to support.”

Manning said she hopes to continue having discussions like this all across her district.