CLAY COUNTY – Clay County Jail Administrator Frank “Tank” Randle was hosting his weekly meeting with inmates, going over duties and expectations for the week when something stopped him in his tracks.
The inmates asked Randle if they could speak to the community and specifically local children about the impact of gun violence after another shooting in West Point on Thursday left two men injured.
“Just to hear them watching the news and watching all this stuff going on,” Randle told The Dispatch. “… Each one of them now wants to tell their stories, and that was a big impact right there (on me).”
After hearing their concerns, Randle immediately reached out to Sheriff Eddie Scott to plan an event and give them that opportunity. The Clay County Jail and Clay County Sheriff’s Office will host a Youth Impact Rally at 1 p.m Saturday at Mary Holmes Field, where inmates will speak about the detriments of violent crime from their perspectives in hopes of curbing gun violence.
Since the start of the year, there have been at least three shootings reported in West Point and Clay County, including at Meadowbrook Drive on Thursday, a Feb. 8 shootout at Ridgewood East Apartment Complex that left one dead and two others injured and a Jan. 9 shooting spree that spanned three houses and left six dead.
After so many incidents in only a 37-day span, Scott and Randle agreed there was a desperate need for the community to come together.
“There’s a lot of grieving families over here in our community,” Scott said. “… Since the first of the year – and it’s not even 60 days in – we’ve dealt with multiple gun violence crimes, and it’s just unusual and unheard of in our community.”
Randle said six inmates will speak Saturday, engaging local youth in conversations about how dangerous and detrimental gun violence is to the community. The event will also feature members of law enforcement, some joint prayers and a Q&A segment with the inmates for community members to ask follow up questions about their experiences.
While Randle said the event is aimed at reaching Clay County youth, he hopes that the parents listen just as intently.
“I’m hoping to get the parents’ attention too, because the parents are going to be able to teach (their children),” Randle said. “… That’s what I’m looking to get out of it, to reach out to the parents and let them understand, hey, get a hold of your child, if your child is out there doing something (that they) don’t have any business (being involved in).”
Randle said he would like to potentially host the rally annually if there is enough support this year. Based on initial responses from locals, he expects to see about 300 people in attendance.
“It’s just going to take all of us working together, community, law enforcement, the schools (and) the churches,” Scott said. “So that’s what we’re trying to do is just bring (them) together, (and) start working on it in steps.”
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You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 48 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
