It's a problem a lot of cities face that leaders said has gotten worse in Nashville: youth violence.
Monday night, Mayor Megan Berry held a summit to address a spike in the number of youth homicides this year.
NewsChannel 5’s own Lelan Statom served as moderator of two discussions among Nashville's political and legal leaders at Pearl Cohn Magnet high school.
While Barry said finding solutions will take more than just a single forum, she said the discussion was a good start.
In addition to this summit, the Mayor's office is also trying to look into programs and policies that have worked in other cities across the country to reduce youth violence.
“As a city, as a community, as a people who care deeply for each other's safety, we can't stand for this,” Barry said.
A lack of education opportunities and the lack of positive male role models were cited as two potential reasons for the increase in violence.
The Mayor's office says this is just the first of many summits -- there will be more scheduled for next year.
