Renewed calls for a ‘summer of peace’ among youth after Highland Park parade shooting

ATLANTA - While charges have been filed against the suspect in a deadly mass shooting just outside of Chicago on Fourth of July, a Fulton County judge with ties to the area and other local leaders are continuing calls for a summer of peace amongst youth.

"Our nation’s gun violence is actually a national embarrassment," Fulton County Chief Probate Judge Kenya Johnson said Tuesday.

Seven people were killed and at least 30 others were injured in that shooting after police said a 22-year-old gunman, Robert Crimo III, opened fire at a Fourth of July parade Monday in Highland Park, a suburb of Chicago.

"We do believe Crimo pre-planned this attack for several weeks," Lake County Major Crimes Spokesperson Christopher Covelli said during a news conference.

It was a tragedy that hit close to home for Johnson.

"As a former prosecutor from Chicago I was devastated. This is a neighborhood and a parade that I’ve been to before," Johnson recalled.

With another mass shooting now plaguing the community she once lived in, she had a message for youth in the community she now serves.

"To hear about mass shootings with young people, it makes you afraid to go anywhere but we can’t live like that and we can’t survive like that as a country," the chief probate judge told FOX 5.

She, and Fulton County Solicitor General Keith Gammage, called it a disheartening reminder more needs to be done in the effort to get guns out of the hands of our nation’s youth.

"In my office, we have several hundred cases pending involving the use of illegal firearms…many of them from young folks, many of them that if we don’t stop them at the state court level may commit felonies," Gammage explained.

Both Fulton County officials said stopping the violence starts with outreach events like the Summer of Peace Anti-Gun Violence Rally they organized on Clark Atlanta University’s campus in May.

"Through those efforts spoke with hundreds of young people in our community, high school students, empowered them with ways to make better decisions," Gammage said.

The event featured appearances from hip-hop artists to college and employment recruiters. Their hope is to partner with more organizations for next year’s event and in the meantime begin outreach efforts in schools.

"We feel the pain of our young people and we want you to grow. Your government is working to make a change for you because we want you to live," Johnson said.

Both Johnson and Gammage shared their condolences for the Chicago-area residents who were impacted.