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Shootings, Stabbing Create Deadly 24 Hours

POSTED: Monday, October 29, 2007

City leaders working to find ways to keep Jacksonville's residents safe said they were especially frustrated on Monday, following a weekend of violence.

Detectives were busy investigating five incidents that left people dead or seriously wounded last weekend.

The violence began late Friday night and continued into Saturday.

There have been 126 homicides in the city this year. One of the latest victims is a teenage girl who police said was shot and killed while leaving a nightclub; another is a man who was stabbed on the Southside.

A fatal downtown shooting also prompted the response of homicide detectives last weekend. That shooting happened Saturday at about 4 a.m., near West Adams and Clay streets.

Homicide investigators said 26-year-old Dorean White went outside to wait for friends. They later found him dead of a gunshot wound.

Also, on Saturday afternoon, Assistant Chief Rick Graham said a homicide investigation was under way after a body was found in the 5800 block of Doeboy Street in Northwest Jacksonville. Investigators later identified the body as that of 17-year-old Robert Cummings

Graham also asserted that the weekend violence was in no way related to the Florida-Georgia game.

He said the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office had not reduced its street presence during the football game.

Nonetheless, the number of slayings in Jacksonville continues to climb at a pace that city leaders said is frightening because so many young people have been involved.

"As we work to make Jacksonville safer, it's clear to me we are going to have to do more on the juvenile level," said Mayor John Peyton.

Last year was a violent one in Jacksonville. The city had 117 homicides at this time in 2006.

Jacksonville is ahead of that pace now with 126 homicides -- the highest in the state today. In Orlando, Orange County, 91 homicides have taken place. In Tampa, Hillsborough County, 68 homicides have happened in 2007. Miami has had 109 homicides this year.

Last year, when the Jacksonville was approaching 100 murders, official took action by putting more police on the streets and holding a day of prayer that leaders said made a difference and slowed the homicide rate for a brief time.

However, this year the rate picked back up and no one seems to have any answers.

"My concern is that we've got to do a better job coordinating resources and making sure the faith community, the business community, and certainly the sheriff's office and all the organizations we work with to provide services for youth -- we need to focus more resources on children," Peyton said.

Anyone with information about last weekend's incidents is urged to call police. You can also call Crimestoppers at 866-845-TIPS. You can remain anonymous and you could be eligible for a cash reward.
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