NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The number of young people who died as a result of violence in Nashville increased last year.
The Tennessean reports 20 of the 75 reported homicides in 2015 were teenagers or younger. That was the highest number of violent youth deaths in Nashville in the past decade. The second-highest was 18 in 2008.
Three of the 20 victims were infants who died as a result of abuse. Of the slain teens, all died as a result of gunfire. Fifteen of them were male and all but four were African-American.
In an effort to address the violence, Mayor Megan Barry organized a Youth Violence Summit last month. During the meeting, she promised to create a new plan to tackle the issue by March.