MACON, Ga. — Last week was a violent one in Macon-Bibb County, with five homicides.
Monday night, Coroner Leon Jones identified one of the five victims, found shot to death on Thomaston Road, as 23-year-old Destin Howard. Earlier Monday, Craig Paige, shot in Macon two months ago, died from his injuries. Paige's death marks Macon-Bibb's 68th homicide on the year, shattering last year's record of 55.
Now, some Macon-Bibb elected officials are speaking out about the violence, and the county's anti-violence program. It's an issue they've been trying to address.
"It's scary to have this many violent incidents ending in death," said Commissioner Virgil Watkins. "Continuing to look for some solutions, and trying to find folks some relief."
Last Tuesday, three teens, Marcelles Williams, Jah'Ryon Willis and Tyshoun Williams were all shot outside West Club Apartments. Friday, Destin Howard was found dead in a parking lot on Thomaston Road. Saturday, Demonta Clyde was shot inside his home.
"Been almost like every other day, affecting young people, students, families, throughout the community," Watkins said. "Not even really having a chance to breathe and process it."
For over a year now, Bibb leaders have poured millions into a countywide anti-violence program, called 'MVP.'
"One shooting leads to the next shooting, which leads to the next shooting," said Mayor Lester Miller. "So that's the mentality we have to stop."
Many Maconites have been skeptical of the program's impact, citing a record homicide rate. Mayor Miller says there's more to the program than that.
"One of the best ways to lift people out of poverty and kind of stop the crime that we have is teach them a trade and learn a new skillset. Work with the school system to make sure they have a good education, but also a marketable skill," Miller said.
The program places a heavy focus on school-age kids, but Miller says they're working on ways to support teens and adults too.
"There's a lot of housing initiatives that we have going on because we do believe that having adequate housing is going to help us with crime. We're gonna continue our fight against blight," he said.
Miller says it takes time to build the foundation, and to build a culture that gets people the help they need. Once that foundation is built, they hope people stop choosing violence.
Commissioner Watkins is hosting a town hall Tuesday at the Macon-Bibb Government Center, focusing on gun violence. It starts at 6 p.m. in the commission chambers. He says they ask people to bring solutions to the table.