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Meeting being held in response to youth violence in Gwinnett County

By Tyler Fingert
Published  November 2, 2022 6:16pm EDT
Gwinnett County
FOX 5 Atlanta

Church taking action in response to safety concerns at Gwinnett County schools

The meeting hopes to provide conflict resolution tactics. It follows a string of incidents, including a student shot and killed during school hours.

LILBURN, Ga - School safety in Gwinnett County has been in the news a lot this year with multiple school scares throughout the county. Parents like Erika Wimberly are concerned.

"I intentionally moved to Gwinnett County because I thought it was safe," she said.

Some recent scares include a gun being shot on Shiloh High School's campus after school ended. Last week, a Norcross High School student was shot and killed during school hours less than a mile from campus and this week a student was cut with a box cutter during a fight at Grayson High School.

Those safety concerns have prompted a meeting called "Code Red" at New Mercies Church in Lilburn.

"It's sad that there's a need for this type of community-wide event to try and save our kids basically because if something isn't done, they're going to die," Wimberly said.

The meeting kicks off at 7 pm at New Mercies on Five Forks Trickum Road in Lilburn.

It is set to give parents information about a recent string of safety issues involving Gwinnett County students in the last few weeks.

On the panel the Chairwoman of the Gwinnett County Commission Nicole Hendrickson.

"The goal of this effort is to show our unified voice in addressing crime and also getting the opportunity to hear from the public on what their concerns are," she said.

One of the moderators of the meeting, Pastor Lawrence Williams, says another major topic of discussion will be conflict resolution.

"A majority of what's taking place in our schools is rooted in the lack of skill in conflict resolution and so we not only want to empower but educate students on that," he said.

New Mercies Church in Lilburn

New Mercies Church in Lilburn (FOX 5)

Parents hope this meeting, which will bring together law enforcement, the school system and others, can lead to change.

"One too many incidents have happened, now we need to come together as a community and look at what needs to be in place," said Shaun Thompson.

The meeting kicks off at 7 p.m. at New Mercies Church.

If you cannot make it out, they will be streaming, it here.