CENTER CITY - As more information comes to light regarding the Roxborough High School shooting, one thing is certain and that is too many kids are getting involved in crime across the area.One of the victims from that shooting had a connection to a carjacking case and kids as young as 14 keep getting arrested."The biggest thing is the lack of hope.
They’re more afraid of living then they are to die,"RELATED COVERAGE:As Philadelphia approaches the staggering number of 1,000 murders in just two years, residents who grew up and live in the neighborhoods are trying to fight back against the unprecedented violence.Philadelphia police, earlier this year, flagged a disturbing trend – young people are increasingly becoming both the victim and the perpetrators in the crimes."Your prefrontal cortex, your frontal lobe, doesn’t develop until you’re 25 and that’s your decision-making tool," Taj Murdock explained.Murdock is the founder of Men of Courage, a non-profit aimed at helping 12 to 18-year-old young men find a purpose.Murdock himself was once a juvenile in jail.
He credits his corrected path in life to a mentor, something he says is sorely lacking in today’s neighborhoods. "You got a clear, psychological diagram of an anger iceberg.
Anger is what you see above the water. Below that is all these other emotions going on and young, Black men aren’t given tools or the social and emotional intelligence to deal with their feelings."Shaka Johnson is a defense attorney in Philadelphia and a former police officer.