Alsobrooks: ‘Partner With Us’

County Executive’s Statement Regarding the Increase in Acts of Violence in the County

The recent increase in violent crime that has impacted the nation is also visiting itself upon Prince George’s County. The case of eight-year-old Peyton John Evans who was gunned down in a Lanham apartment Aug. 24 while playing video games is one of the most recent of a slew of violent crimes that seem to be growing in the county. Although an arrest in the senseless murder of a child whose love for life and football brought many county residents to the aid of his grieving family, Evans isn’t the only victim of this problem. Now, County Executive Angela Alsobrooks is calling on Prince Gorgegians to take an active role toward ending the violence. The following is a statement by the county executive:

Over the past year, we have seen an increase in acts of violence that have plagued our community, recently resulting in the injury and death of our children. These acts of violence have landed hard on the souls of mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, grandparents, and so many Prince Georgians across our community. We continue to pray for all those who have lost loved ones to senseless acts of violence, and as a community, we must stand up and say enough is enough.

Peyton”PJ” Evans with his mother, Tiffani Evans

These issues are not unique to Prince George’s County, and other jurisdictions across the nation have experienced a rise in crime as well. I am confident that our Police Chief, Malik Aziz, along with the men and women of our Police Department will continue to work to put a stop to the increase in homicides and violence we have seen over the past year, so no more families will have to suffer.

Earlier this year, we worked with the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission to make more youth programming available. One of those programs was the Alsobrooks Summer Passport Experience, where we had over 1,200 participants join us for 37 events throughout the summer. We’ve also been working to increase mental health and addiction care services to meet the needs of those who are suffering or are vulnerable. A new behavioral health facility we broke ground on earlier this year will open in December.

Chief Aziz is launching a gun violence unit in the Police Department to ensure gun arrests have all the necessary documentation for proper prosecution. We are also working with our faith community to organize job fairs and gun turn-in programs in the coming weeks. Finally, we have several gun violence prevention grants that will result in even more new efforts starting in early October.

However, we cannot do this work alone, so we are asking Prince Georgians to step up and partner with us in this fight to keep each other safe. Tell us what you see and hear in the community, give guidance to those who may be going down the wrong path, and most importantly, care for one another as you would your own family. We can accomplish anything by working together, and as County Executive, I remain committed to ensuring our Police Department has the resources and support they need to keep this community safe.