It's almost been a year since 14-year-old David Sandoval was shot and killed. His family says he was an athlete and a caring kid, but an alleged gang member, a 13-year-old, mistook David as a member of a rival gang. It happened on October 4, 2017 in Everett.
Another example of youth violence happened this past Friday. There was chaos at Mariner High School. During the fourth quarter of the football game, the stadium was evacuated after reports of a parking lot fight between juveniles that spilled into the street. Investigators reported that five to six shots were fired. No arrests have been made. The only injury was a rolled ankle as students rushed to get out of the stadium. Snohomish County Sheriff's Deputies are still investigating.
"I don't know if that was gang-involved violence or not, but it is our youth, our children at a game. They couldn't have a peaceful game without something like that happening," said Andre Graham, Unit Director for South Everett Mukilteo Boys and Girls Club.
Everett Police Chief Dan Templeman acknowledges a number of calls have come from West Casino Road, but he says it's a citywide problem.
"We were, last year, responding quite regularly to shootings in the city and a lot of drive-by shootings," said Templeman.
Now Everett is enlisting help. Graham will assist in starting new programs for youth. His background includes seeing the negative impact of gang activity on his family.
"My brother had passed away from getting shot in the streets of Chicago," said Graham.
Graham credits a youth center in Chicago and his mentors for encouraging him to avoid gang activity. He graduated from college and now works to mentor youth in Snohomish County.
Officer Anthony Fletcher with Everett Police says high school football kept him on track.
"I grew up in Los Angeles and was in an area where gang activity was rampant, but I was able to navigate through that," Officer Fletcher said.
Now Graham and Fletcher will be doing work to promote programs that will encourage at-risk youth to stay on a positive path. Learn more about the programs here.
"Having someone who understands and actually really cares about you and your family and what's going on, I think really matters a lot to the kids," said Graham.
Everett police have been dedicating more resources to address gang activity and youth violence. The department is already seeing a decrease in some violent crimes. The number of drive-by shootings is down 81% compared to the same time last year, according to Templeman.
Everett police plan to soon have a Gang Response Unit. Officer Fletcher will be the department's new Gang Education and Prevention Officer.
