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St. Pete leaders discuss violence in Jordan Park area hours after double shooting

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Published  December 11, 2024 5:27pm EST
St. Petersburg
FOX 13 News

Addressing gun violence in Jordan Park

Kailey Tracy reports.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - A couple of hours before a double shooting in St. Pete, and less than a half a mile away on Wednesday, city leaders and community partners met to talk about that exact topic: Violence in Jordan Park.

According to the St. Petersburg Police Department, two adults were shot in the 2400 block of 13th Avenue South and have non-life-threatening injuries. A few streets away, representatives from the St. Petersburg Housing Authority, SPPD and organizations like Big Brothers Big Sisters of America and the Boys and Girls Club met in the lobby of The Legacy at Jordan Park Apartment building not too long before the incident. 

The conversation about how to curb violence in the neighborhood is in the very early stages. On Wednesday, they worked on establishing partnerships to strengthen the resources available to Jordan Park residents.

RELATED: St. Pete shooting sends 2 to the hospital: Police

"I just think it’s just a better coordination [of the resources] … to look at other areas that we can improve," Michael Lundy, the president and CEO of the St. Petersburg Housing Authority, said. "Are there other resources we can bring to bear here in this community … but this is a very vibrant community and people love it here. We want to provide them the best quality of life that we can afford."

Lundy said much of the Housing Authority’s attention is focused on Jordan Park, because it’s one of the Housing Authority’s largest communities. They currently offer programs across their affordable housing program, he said. Right now, for example, they work with 145 residents to help put them on a path towards self-sufficiency. 

"We have to be mindful of our youth and provide services and link them to services that will help them to become better citizens," Lundy said.

"Our job as adults is to provide access to those opportunities, and so, what I want to do is, I want to make sure that kids in South St. Pete know that they have adults who are fighting for them and working for them," Councilman-Elect Corey Givens Jr. of District 7 said. 

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Givens Jr. was just elected to represent the district that includes Jordan Park. 

"I think it's also important to know that the adults in this community need to have economic development," Givens Jr. said. "There needs to be workforce development. They need to know also that they have access to those same opportunities."

According to SPPD, over the past year, there were seven aggravated batteries in the Jordan Park area. One of those incidents was a shooting that was non-life-threatening. That doesn’t include Wednesday’s double shooting. 

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