Four children are victims of gun violence in Dallas since June
Gun violence in Dallas has claimed the lives of four innocent children and young teens since June.
The death of 9-year-old Brandoniya Bennett when bullets ripped through her family's Roseland Townhomes apartment on Wednesday is the fourth child or young teen killed by gun violence in Dallas since June 19.
Marvin Earle is a former mortgage banker and Parkland board member who operates an internet radio station among his business ventures.
"I do believe the breakdown of the family, I do believe the breakdown of the community, and I do believe we need to have a better job at community policing," Earle said.
Kia Westbrook and Darrion Lewis are part of Behind Every Door, a non-profit working to change outcomes in Roseland Homes. They see that pressure pushing some to make poor choices.
"The only way I cope with it is in the streets, and it's the fact that I feel like I have to find love and I ride with who loves me," Lewis said.
"Where are the resources? Where is the help? Where is the table that I can sit at and turn my life around? Where are the economic opportunities?" Westbrook said.
After 13-year-old Malik Tyler was killed in dope dealers' crossfire when he was leaving a Pleasant Grove store, Willie Franklin and 12 others who grew up in Pleasant Grove threw a community event at the same corner Malik lost his life.
"It was, to say the least, heartbreaking. It was just hurtful to see this happen again," Franklin said. "I feel like it's our responsibility to try to save our own neighborhoods. If we just get together and help each other and talk to one another, I feel that's the answer that's contagious."
"There are churches. There are non-profits. There are mentors," Earle said. "We need to do a better job being a part of the solution more so than part of the problem."