LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Little Rock Police Chief Keith Humphrey alluded to the fact that a large number of suspects involved in recent gun violence in the city are teens and young adults.
Over the weekend 10 people were shot, including a one-year-old child. One person died.
On Friday, January 28, a shooting took place that resulted in multiple injuries on University Ave. near the I-630 overpass. The victims' ages ranged from one to 24-years-old.
The victim who died in the shooting has been identified as 20-year-old Bradford Bankston.
The next night at around 7:15 p.m. two more people were shot. According to police, their injuries weren't life-threatening.
On Monday, Chief Humphrey held a press conference to address not only the violence over the weekend but the rising gun violence in recent months.
Humphrey made it clear that these incidents nearly always are "targeted" and committed by suspects who have "no care" for anyone's safety.
Humphrey went on to note that weapons involved in these violent crimes are being converted from semi-automatic to fully automatic.
"I believe in the 2nd Amendment, I believe people have a right to own guns," Humphrey said. "I don't believe people have a right — in this situation — to take a gun, convert it in an attempt to hurt someone, to kill someone."
These guns are most likely illegally obtained, he said. Guns are stolen from cars, traded from out of state, from gun shows, and then converted to be more deadly.
Wayne Bewley, the chief over the Little Rock police investigation bureau said the importance of targeting the weapons in the hands of "these youths" is paramount, with plans of federal charges of those convicted.
Chief Humphrey stated multiple times throughout the press conference the fact that the suspects in the gun violence across Little Rock are "kids" and "youths."
"These kids are displaying these weapons on social media, they're displaying them in front yards, they're talking about them at school," he said.
Humphrey spoke directly to parents, asking them to talk to their kids. "Start checking your kids' cell phones. Start checking your kids' social media. Start looking in your kids' rooms."
The chief mentioned that the goal is to find a solution to gun violence in Little Rock.
Little Rock police ask that if you know anything about this weekends' shootings, call 501-371-4636.
Watch the full press conference here: