NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) — The New Haven Board of Alders talked about ways to end gun violence in a virtual meeting Thursday night.
The community has been concerned following the most recent deaths of a Yale student and a young father. Kevin Jiang, 26, a Yale student and army veteran was fatally shot on Feb. 6th.
Then, Angel Luis Rodriguez, 21, a young father, was found along the Mill River Monday morning with a gunshot wound to the head.
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Their deaths are part of a long list of people who’ve died at the hands of gun violence over the past year. New Haven Board of Alders believes building relationships with the community is a huge part of cutting crime.
Assistant Police Chief Renee Dominguez said, “If we don’t continue to try and to talk and have interactions with the youth when it’s not a police interaction, then we’re really missing out on an important piece.”
Police also want to pay close attention to those who’ve just been released offenders, wanting to ensure they don’t re-offend.
New Haven Assistant Police Chief Karl Jacobson added, “You’ll have inspectors agents and detectives and officers working those shootings, we kind of got away from that. We got to get back to that.“
Police and investigators want the community to help in battling crime. They ask you to call their tip hotline with any information on these crimes. The number is 866-888-8477 TIPS.