PARISH EVANGELINE, La.KLFY) — State and local officials met Wednesday to address violent crimes involving youth in Ville Platte.

Ville Platte Mayor Ryan LeDay Williams said the safety and well-being of the community is a major concern, especially with recent criminal activity involving mostly minors.

“We must work together to find effective strategies to ensure the safety of our businesses and business owners and provide our young people with the supportive opportunities they need to choose a positive path forward,” Williams said.

Police Chief Perry Thomas referenced a recent shooting at the Gabriel Villa Apartment complex, saying a minor was involved.

The shooting occurred Monday afternoon and a 20-year-old man was taken to hospital with injuries, authorities said.

It is precisely because of these types of shootings involving minors that city officials are looking for solutions to address this problem.

Bill Moore of the Louisiana State Police says police are seeing a lot of young adults who are members of neighborhood gangs that are very territorial.

“You go up against rival neighborhood gangs, put it on social media and before you know it they’re out in the streets shooting and it’s a reality,” Moore said.

A woman in the audience expressed her frustration. She said people are leaving and businesses are closing because of crime.

“So let’s do something different. If the sheriff has a plan or offers to help or if we need to call in the state police. We haven’t seen that action yet. So I think most of us just want to see something different,” the woman said.

Evangeline Parish Sheriff Charles Guillory was one of several state and local officials who lent a helping hand to the Ville Platte City Department. He said that although Ville Platte is 4.02 square miles and the parish is 680 square miles, the city seems to have more problems.

“It can stop, but we have to work together and work hard,” he said.

Concerns were raised about the placement of minors after they had been charged with crimes.

Kenneth Loftin, secretary of the Office of Juvenile Justice, said there are issues with limited bed space in the state. But because Senate Bill 431 was successfully passed, it will help build juvenile detention facilities in Louisiana and address that issue in the future, he said.

Heather Cloud, Senator for District 28, highlighted the reforms she has implemented within the Bureau of Juvenile Justice, including age criteria for prosecution, greater sentencing transparency and tougher sentences.

“You elected me to govern and if at the end of the day we don’t do it to the best of our ability, then you will replace us, because nothing is more important than the safety of your family and your community,” Cloud said.

Other concerns raised were how to hold 11-12 year olds who commit crimes accountable. Others suggested more police patrols in the community.

Larry Freeman of the Attorney General’s Office said solutions such as monitoring minors are working in New Orleans.

“If we can solve the big problem in New Orleans, it will slowly spread and those solutions will be applicable everywhere, but I can tell you the attorney general has taken it very seriously,” he said.

Cloud suggested that the city’s police department could purchase real-time monitoring bracelets as tools.

After a meeting that lasted more than two hours, a board meeting was held with state and local officials to further discuss solutions to the city’s concerns.

Cloud assured those in attendance that their concerns would not fall on empty ears.

Other officials in attendance included Kyle Ardoin of the governor’s office, State Rep. Rhonda Bulter, Rapides Parish Sheriff Mark Wood, Ward 1 City Judge Greg Vidrine, District Attorney Trent Brignac, and Judges Chuck West and Marcus Fontenot of the 13th Judicial District.

See below a statement from the Mayor of Ville Platte:

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