Hundreds of Salt Lake City west-side community members, leaders and law enforcement gathered Monday night at Kearns High School to address gang violence in the community in the wake of a recent killing.
The meeting stemmed from the recent death of sophomore Esteban Manuel Saidi in a an alleged gang feud by Saidi's peer and accused killer, 16-year-old Ricky Angilau.
Dozens of council members, sheriffs, mayors, legislators and law enforcement offiicials lined the stage during the town hall meeting, in which no new resolutions were announced, no new anti-gang programs were unveiled and no original solutions offered. The theme of the night's gathering, instead, hinged overwhelmingly on more encouragement to parents about becoming more involved in what the Salt Lake County sheriff repeatedly said was "only a beginning of the process."
"We cannot lock up enough individuals to keep our community safe," said Sheriff Jim Winder. "The real solution to the problem is that we must take control of our individual circumstances … Parents must pay attention to their children."
Several speakers spoke about losing the two Kearns students to "prison and the grave," not just losing the shooting victim but also losing the alleged murderer to prison. Isaac Giron spoke of the need for society to eliminate racial lines to solve violence. Giron and his small group is part of a specific grassroots effort to mend hostility between Pacific Islanders and Latino students. His group received a roaring standing ovation from the passionate audience, which filled three-quarters of the schools' auditorium.
"They got to the point," said 15-year-old Kearns High sophomore, Shaina Lavatai. "Parents should get closer to their kids. But a lot of it relies on kids to get closer and communicate with their parents."
Lavatai came up short of feeling absolutely safe at school or confident the meeting's message will help right away but said she is sure things will get better in the near future.
Lavatai's mother, Vai Lavatia, echoed her daughter after the meeting saying the communication between students and their parents should be a "two-way street," but added parents are ultimately responsible.
David Kinikini, a college counselor, firmly told parents not to "put the burden on anyone else," and received loud applause.
The two-hour meeting ended in a public comment period where passionate community members lined up 35-deep to take a moment at the microphone where they spoke out against everything from violence, to rap music to the judicial system. One man, the father of a girl who was shot several years ago by a gang member, asked why students that knew Angilau had a gun didn't report it that morning before the shooting.
"If someone would have reported the gun in my daughter's case," he said. "She would be alive today. Students need to report it."
E-mail: jhancock@desnews.com