LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- As Louisville police investigate several shootings involving minors in less than 24 hours, community leaders are doubling down on their efforts to stop the violence.
People under the age of 18 account for nearly 20 percent of the shootings across Louisville Metro, according to data from LMPD. Although the number of shootings are trending down overall, there's concern that too many young people are resorting to gun violence to settle disputes.
In fact, three kids were shot in three separate incidents in Louisville Metro in less than a day: an 8-year-old in Pleasure Ridge Park Monday evening, a 13-year-old in the Chickasaw neighborhood in a Tuesday morning shooting that left a man dead, and a 16-year-old was shot in the Portland neighborhood overnight.
Now Mayor Craig Greenberg said the city is intensifying its efforts to put a stop to the shootings.
"Any act of gun violence is one too many," Greenberg said during a news briefing on July 15. "We continue to double and triple and quadruple down on what's working and look for new ways to do even more."
Greenberg said parents can help by making sure their kids aren't on the streets at all hours of the night.
"If you have 13- and 16-year-old kids -- kids of any ages -- and it's the middle of the night, hopefully they're at home in bed," he said.
Earlier this year the city invested $3 million into programs to curb gun violence.
The mayor said the community will do its part by continuing to invest in community programs -- but are the programs to keep young people off the street really working?
Game Changers was created five years ago by community leader Christopher 2X, who said young people today don't have the ability to cope with conflict without resorting to violence.
"Sometimes the only way they know how to settle these issues is to cause more hurt," 2X said.
Game Changers has been providing resources for children impacted by gun violence, including its Future Healers program. It's a partnership between Game Changers, UofL Hospital's Trauma Institute and students at the University of Louisville School of Medicine.
"Programs [like Game Changers] take time," 2X said. "It's not going to happen with the snap of a finger."
Louisville resident Michelle Black said her surveillance camera caught part of the shooting in PRP.
"Someone pulled up, jumped out, fired a couple of shots and then they left," Black said.
That video is now in the hands of an LMPD detective.
Black said she remembers when kids would settle differences without picking up guns.
"Kids used to fight," she said. "I remember fighting."
2X said it's crucial to reach kids early because the older they get, the harder it is to turn around violent tendencies.
"What we try to do is bring the positive to balance out the negative, with children having hope at an early age," he said.
Black said kids often don't realize that their violent actions hurt more than their intended target.
"You might think that you are causing harm to someone who did you wrong, but most of the time it's other people who are hurt," Black said.
Mayor Greenberg said the city will continue to invest in programs like Game Changers to help young people learn there's an alternative to violence.
An LMPD spokesperson said the juveniles involved in the shootings are expected to survive, and police continue to look for suspects.
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