MIDSTATE, Pa. (WHTM) -- In less than two weeks, several shootings across the Midstate have led to injuries and property damage, and some have been fatal. abc27 asked how officials and community members are attacking the growing problem of gun violence.
The message was the same from law enforcement officials and community leaders: The most effective way to prevent gun violence is by working with the community, especially young people.
For nonprofit founder Kevin Dolphin, the recent string of shootings across the Midstate is, in a word, alarming.
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"We definitely want to do our best to prevent those things," Dolphin, who founded nonprofit Breaking the Chainz said.
Dolphin started Breaking the Chainz to help end gun violence. He said the work has to start early.
"We want to prevent the youth from ending up in dark places," he said.
Dolphin said exposure to gun violence at a young age can lead people to be perpetrators later.
"Having grown up in that type of environment, I know what it can do to an individual mentally," he said. "You have anger, you have pent up aggression."
Through his nonprofit, Dolphin wants to connect with young people, help them set positive goals for themselves and teach them to be role models.
"The older guys, you are examples of what these younger guys should be looking for," he said.
York City Police Detective Sergeant Kyle Hower says the police department is trying to do the same thing.
"If we can develop better relationships with the community, especially our youth, that's only going to help us in the long run," Hower said.
Hower said the work police have done to build trust with the community has already made it easier to stop shootings before they happen and get guns off the street.
"A simple tip can help us sometimes get 10, 15 guns," he said.
Dolphin said violence prevention needs everyone working together, elected officials and community members, and it needs to happen now.
"Curb this gun violence...because it's growing like a wildfire," he said.
Starting in March, Dolphin is partnering with the Camp Curtain YMCA to start a weekly sports night. He said it will give kids a space to interact and keep them off the streets.
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