Anti-gang activists meet to combat gang activity

This morning, anti-gang activists and lawmakers held a meeting in North Charleston to discuss how they could combat gang violence in the area. Charleston Representative Wendell Gilliard is one activist who wants to do something about the recent string of violence.

“Got together with Mr. Arnold Collins, he’s the executive director of the Charleston County Human Services Commission. He does a lot to help people. What has happened is that they decided to go ahead and put on this event, and they asked me to be a part of it because they know we do a lot of things in the community. Me, Senator Ford, Chip Limehouse, we are bipartisan when it comes to things as such. We put our differences aside.”

Gilliard says he’s seen some changes in his years on Charleston City Council, and now as a state representative, he wants to continue his efforts.

“For number one, using surveillance cameras in high-crime communities. Number two, having more support means having more dialogue between young people and our law enforcement. These things through the years now, we do have more cameras. People use to call me silly, crazy, stupid, whatever, but I can take that crap; nevertheless, we need the cameras.”

The meeting was held at North Charleston High School and Gilliard, former gang members, and other lawmakers discussed recent suspected gang activity, linking that to recent murders in Colleton County.

“We’re trying to make a difference. We are trying to get our young people because who would want to walk through life knowing you have a 20-month-old baby that is no longer with us. Who would want to wear those shoes? I don’t know.”

In this incident Gilliard is talking about, a 20-month-old toddler was shot and killed, along with two others in a drive-by shooting in Colleton County.

The most recent possible gang activity in the area was in Cottageville when two people were shot multiple times, one dead. Police are still investigating to see if this incident is linked to several other shootings in Colleton County.

At today’s meeting in North Charleston, Gilliard says one message they wanted to get across:

“You have to learn in life to stay focused. It’s not about me, it’s not about you, it’s about us. It’s about our community, our state, and it’s about our country.”