SAN ANTONIO — U.S. cities are struggling with an uptick in violent crime, according to CBS News. We're feeling the effects of this nationwide problem in San Antonio.
Within the past 72 hours, authorities reported at least six shootings and two deaths.
Experts say much of the violence is triggered by beef on social media.
People who are in the community talking with those involved in shootings say it boils down to some type of disrespect. On social media, people want to protect their name and their image. Unfortunately, experts say these disputes often blow out of proportion and escalate to a shooting.
"Every time that you're airing a shooting on TV, we probably already know about it," said Derek L. Taylor, the Health Program Manager for Stand-Up SA.
Stand-Up SA has a team of 20 men and women. Half of the team works on the east side, the other half on the west side. They're known as "violence interrupters".
"If you hear about somebody that may be about to be shot or somebody that's the shooter, they intervene and try to mediate the situation to make sure everybody gets home safe," said Taylor. "They will talk to us before they talk to other entities or other people."
The team is from the community where they work. They share similar life experiences with those they help.
"Having guns being pulled out on them, or actually being shot at some time," Taylor explained.
Stand-Up SA, a product of SA Metro Health, treats violence as an epidemic.
They intervene and help people change direction, saving lives.
"If we do it right, it never makes the news... because we're behind the scenes stopping that next shooting," said Taylor. "Even though it may be a dangerous situation, they know we're there for something else. They know we're not there to do any harm, we're there to help. That gets us a lot of respect in the community."
City leaders are brainstorming other ideas to stop the crime.
"Trying to find new and innovative ways to intervene so these things don't spiral out of control," said Ana Sandoval, San Antonio City Councilwoman for District 7.
District 2 is looking to pass a new initiative, hiring experts to find root causes of crime in our neighborhoods.
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"We want to hyper focus on San Antonio," said District 2 Councilman, Jalen McKee-Rodriguez. "What can we do to address our specific instances? We know it's not the same here as it is in Florida, Las Vegas, New York."
McKee-Rodriguez, says he recently hosted a round table where neighbors discussed their fears.
"I don't think a day goes by where we don't get calls about crime and we don't have constituents who say 'What are you gonna do? what can we do?'" he said.
While McKee-Rodriguez waits to see if the research initiative can pass through a Council Consideration Request (CCR) or through the city budget, changes to street lights will be a start to crack down on crime.
"One big deterrent of violent crime is street lighting," he explained. "This past budget, we successfully advocated for a street lighting index to identify where gaps are and where they exist."
May 26, there will be a Crime Prevention Summit. City leaders and non-profits will be there. Concerned residents are welcome.
It will be a conversation to find solutions about how we can take back control of our communities. It will be from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Antioch Sports complex on the east side.