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Chattanooga’s mayor said Monday he is “hopeful” the city’s new police chief will help him take a more aggressive approach to crime prevention after a shooting left three dead and 14 injured over the weekend.
Tim Kelly joined “Americas Newsroom” to discuss the need to get tougher on crime to stop mass shootings.
“I am committed to funding the department for anything and everything that it needs to combat the problem here,” Kelly said.
Chattanooga Police Chief Celeste Murphy said 14 people were gunshot victims during Sunday’s incident, while three other people were struck by vehicles. Two people died from gunshot wounds and a third person died from injuries sustained when they were struck by a vehicle fleeing the scene, according to reporting from Fox 13.
Police suspect that multiple shooters were involved in the incident near Mary’s Bar and Grill on McCallie Avenue just after 2 A.M. Sunday, with several of the victims remaining in critical condition.
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A memorial is set up near the scene of shooting in Chattanooga, Tennessee , that left three people dead and 14 others injured.
(Fox News)
So far no arrests have been made and police are asking for the community’s help.
Kelly said part of the crime problem in the Tennessee city is the “devastating effect” the COVID-19 pandemic has had on poor communities.
“I don’t think it’s what any of us would think of traditionally as gangs, but it has been called that here,” he said. “The fact of the matter is, you know, we’ve got communities in Chattanooga that have been, you know, grindingly poor for generations and generations. And that’s that the root cause of the problem.”
Kelly emphasized the need to address the issue and pledged his administration is dedicated to doing so.
When asked if Congress could play a role in eliminating shootings, the mayor called on lawmakers to focus on common-sense gun policies and avoid a “partisan food fight.”
“There are tens of millions more guns on our streets of American cities than there were before the pandemic,” he said. “And, you know, I don’t know about you, but I mean, I trust law enforcement to help resolve the problem. And they’ve been pretty universal about their call for more common-sense gun measures.”
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Kelly concluded Chattanooga is a “fantastic city with fantastic potential” and the rise in crime is part of the reason he decided to run for office.
“I’ve had a lot of support from our federal attorney and others here,” he said. “I’m hopeful.”
Fox News’ Michael Lee contributed to this report