PHOENIX — Hundreds of community members gathered inside the auditorium at Carl Hayden Community High School in Phoenix Tuesday night to hear a panel discussion focused on violence in the community and solutions to prevent it.
It was the third town hall hosted by 12News focusing on teen violence and this event was held in Spanish to better serve the Hispanic community in the Valley.
The panel was made up of a diverse group including police leaders, community group representatives, parents and people who have been personally impacted by violence.
One of the panelists was Ivan Carreño.
“I just heard three gunshots. And I just saw the truck kind of go away. And in my head, I thought like, Is this really happening?” Carreño said.
On June 28, 2018, Carreño was driving to choir rehearsal. He played piano in his church. Out of nowhere, he was shot. He was unable to stop and he crashed. He was only able to get out of his car when a Good Samaritan jumped in to help. That's when he saw the blood.
“I was shot twice, one in the spine and one an inch away from my heart," Carreño said.
He had a T11 spinal cord injury that left him paralyzed. Still, though no arrests were ever made, he has chosen to forgive whoever shot him and is now speaking out about what happened to him in hopes of raising awareness about gun violence.
Another panelist was Paolla Jordan. Her son died by suicide at just 17 years old after a stranger and predator online instructed him on how to take his own life. Her daughter offered information to attendees about the foundation they've since created called the LaloBoy Foundation.
“I could not be more grateful to be here with the community tonight to have these parents who have lost their babies have the opportunity to be here, to have their voices heard," said Meritxell Adria. “What we predominantly do is provide financial support to families in need of counseling services for their children along with internet safety workshops in English and Spanish for parents.”
New Pathways for Youth staff were also in attendance spreading awareness about their Level Up program which pairs Valley youth with mentors.
“Which equips youth with the skills and abilities to be able to confront challenges in life and feel that they can take charge of their future," said Nina Franco. "We have about a 95 percent graduation rate from high school and with the 95 percent of the youth that graduate high school, we have 75 percent being the first in their family to ever graduate high school and move on to a post-secondary education."
Dr. Julio Rubio is Carl Hayden's principal who also sat on the panel. He's happy the conversation is happening on his campus.
“I think sometimes we have issues with youth that are disconnected and so I think being able to have this dialogue and how can we address these issues where our students feel engaged and connected to our school community so that we can avoid some of this violence, issues happening in our community," Rubio said.
Tuesday night, Phoenix PD said from 2022 to 2023, though they saw a decrease in violent crime overall, juvenile violent crime increased by 76 percent.