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Violence prevention group weighs in on recent homicides

Posted at 3:50 PM, Jul 03, 2017
and last updated 2017-07-03 17:48:40-04

The recent homicides are a tragic start to the 4th of July, and officers and community members are trying to find answers. 

“I actually had to breathe and take a breath like, ‘whew’ take a breath,” Rosilyn Temple said.

Temple has been with KC Mothers in Charge since 2013. The organization's mission is to reduce violent crime in the area through prevention, education and intervention.

“I love my city and I'm going to fight,” Temple said. “Until I can't fight anymore, until the last breath in my body to save someone's child.”

She says the recent string of killings in her hometown is disheartening.

“It saddens my spirit,” she said. “It makes my spirit weak.”

But she’s not surprised this keeps happening.

“We have to break the cycle,” Temple said. “The cycle is taking us out. It's killing our children, our loved ones. It's killing our city.”

Tragedies like these hit close to home for Temple, whose son was killed in 2011.

“I know how it is to lose one of your heartbeats,” she said. “One of my heartbeats is gone. So I just want to tell my community we need you.”

According to KCPD’s latest statistics, around this time last year, there were 51 homicides. In 2015 and 2014 combined, that number was 73. In 2017, so far the number of homicides sits right at 72. Sixty percent of the victims were black men between the ages of 17 and 34.

“I need more of us, that's representative of people to come and stand together and say hey, you not KC Mothers in Charge but this is who you are, this is what you could do,” Temple said. “It hurts me so bad to know we are just killing each other.”

Temple says if you see something, say something.

“If we know someone is in our home, our children, our family members are committing these crimes, we got to speak up. We got to help them, get them some help,” she said.

She says these KC homicides are not just one person’s problem, but the community's problem.

“We need to come together, stand together and believe in one thing. We don't have to like each other but respect each other. One common ground, to stop the violence,” she said. “Come with the police department. Break this division. They're not on this side and we're on that side, we got to come together.”