WATERBURY, CT - City health officials have stated they are seeking a $2 million grant from the state of Connecticut to fund community-based interventions intended to help combat gun violence, especially among the youth.
According to newstimes, the Waterbury Health Department (WHD) described the gun violence in its city as "an infectious disease" that is most acutely prevalent among the younger generations. Its preliminary analysis found that gun violence is disproportionately concentrated among black men between the ages of 18 and 34, and that most gun violence incidents in the city are believed to be the result of personal and/or group-related disputes.
In 2024, the city of Waterbury saw significantly less violent crime. However, there was still a persistence of gun violence even with more law enforcement measures, strong existing infrastructure, and community investment. The city said those issues underscore the need for coordinated public health approaches to reduce and prevent community gun violence.
Mayor Paul K. Pernerewski said, "I think we all know that it continues to be an issue." Through mid-May, Waterbury police reported 25 shots fired incidents in the city so far this year, with 13 of them involving gunshot victims. However, none of the three homicides to date involved firearms.
The data shows that there were 34 shots fired incidents through the same time period in 2024, and seven involved gunshot victims, and the four homicides recorded in that period all involved firearms. Overall, there were 95 shots fired incidents in 2024 and 28 gunshot victims, and six of eight homicides reported last year involved firearms.
One of the 13 shooting victims so far this year was Waterbury Police Department (WPD) Detective RJ Sackett. A carjacking suspect opened fire on Sackett during a foot pursuit on February 13th and wounded him in the leg. Law Enforcement Today previously reported on this incident.
Most recently, a 26-year-old woman was shot on Waterville Street on May 18th. The woman was first listed in critical condition with life-threatening injuries, but her condition has since been upgraded to stable. According to the city health department's preliminary analysis for the grant, from April 2020 through April 2025, there were 343 gunshot-inflicted traumatic injuries in the city and the majority involved were 18 to 34 year olds.
City health officials are proposing to target state-funded prevention and intervention programming to the 10 to 34 age group, and primary prevention efforts will focus on the 10 to 17 age group.
The city health department is proposing to enlist stakeholders in gun violence prevention and youth development in a "Gun Violence Prevention Partnership" to coordinate and evaluate public health approaches to gun violence through evidence-based, community-driven prevention and intervention strategies.
One of the gaps that city health officials have identified is a lack of coordination among existing gun violence prevention programs and service providers. With the city health department's guidance, the proposed Gun Violence Prevention Partnership will work to establish a coordinated network of evidence-based programs to prevent gun violence.
The reduction and prevention strategies that city health officials envision include violence interruption, community engagement, analysis of crime, injury and death data, parent and caregiver mentoring, and targeted youth programs to address the root causes of gun violence and prevent future harm.
The city health department proposes collaborating with the Waterbury Police Athletic Leauge, community-based organizations and houses of worship, the police, parks and recreation and other city departments, and Waterbury and Saint Mary's hospitals. Some proposed uses of the $2 million in state funding are gun storage and safety training, gun buy-back events, community clean-ups, youth-led community art projects, social marketing campaigns, and cash assistance programs for gun violence victims and their families.
City health officials propose to recruit and train "Neighborhood Change Agents" described as trusted, credible messengers from the community, including people with lived experience, to lead community violence interruption efforts.
Waterbury Police Chief Fernando Spagnolo backs the initiative an worked with Director of Public Health Aisling McGuckin on developing the city's funding proposal. He was recently named chairman of the National Chiefs' and Sheriff's PAL Council. He said, "We can't arrest our way out of anything. We need to evaluate what is going on in the community and support the community in many different ways. This just gives us another opportunity to do that."
According to newstimes, the Waterbury Health Department (WHD) described the gun violence in its city as "an infectious disease" that is most acutely prevalent among the younger generations. Its preliminary analysis found that gun violence is disproportionately concentrated among black men between the ages of 18 and 34, and that most gun violence incidents in the city are believed to be the result of personal and/or group-related disputes.
In 2024, the city of Waterbury saw significantly less violent crime. However, there was still a persistence of gun violence even with more law enforcement measures, strong existing infrastructure, and community investment. The city said those issues underscore the need for coordinated public health approaches to reduce and prevent community gun violence.
Mayor Paul K. Pernerewski said, "I think we all know that it continues to be an issue." Through mid-May, Waterbury police reported 25 shots fired incidents in the city so far this year, with 13 of them involving gunshot victims. However, none of the three homicides to date involved firearms.
The data shows that there were 34 shots fired incidents through the same time period in 2024, and seven involved gunshot victims, and the four homicides recorded in that period all involved firearms. Overall, there were 95 shots fired incidents in 2024 and 28 gunshot victims, and six of eight homicides reported last year involved firearms.
One of the 13 shooting victims so far this year was Waterbury Police Department (WPD) Detective RJ Sackett. A carjacking suspect opened fire on Sackett during a foot pursuit on February 13th and wounded him in the leg. Law Enforcement Today previously reported on this incident.
Most recently, a 26-year-old woman was shot on Waterville Street on May 18th. The woman was first listed in critical condition with life-threatening injuries, but her condition has since been upgraded to stable. According to the city health department's preliminary analysis for the grant, from April 2020 through April 2025, there were 343 gunshot-inflicted traumatic injuries in the city and the majority involved were 18 to 34 year olds.
City health officials are proposing to target state-funded prevention and intervention programming to the 10 to 34 age group, and primary prevention efforts will focus on the 10 to 17 age group.
The city health department is proposing to enlist stakeholders in gun violence prevention and youth development in a "Gun Violence Prevention Partnership" to coordinate and evaluate public health approaches to gun violence through evidence-based, community-driven prevention and intervention strategies.
One of the gaps that city health officials have identified is a lack of coordination among existing gun violence prevention programs and service providers. With the city health department's guidance, the proposed Gun Violence Prevention Partnership will work to establish a coordinated network of evidence-based programs to prevent gun violence.
The reduction and prevention strategies that city health officials envision include violence interruption, community engagement, analysis of crime, injury and death data, parent and caregiver mentoring, and targeted youth programs to address the root causes of gun violence and prevent future harm.
The city health department proposes collaborating with the Waterbury Police Athletic Leauge, community-based organizations and houses of worship, the police, parks and recreation and other city departments, and Waterbury and Saint Mary's hospitals. Some proposed uses of the $2 million in state funding are gun storage and safety training, gun buy-back events, community clean-ups, youth-led community art projects, social marketing campaigns, and cash assistance programs for gun violence victims and their families.
City health officials propose to recruit and train "Neighborhood Change Agents" described as trusted, credible messengers from the community, including people with lived experience, to lead community violence interruption efforts.
Waterbury Police Chief Fernando Spagnolo backs the initiative an worked with Director of Public Health Aisling McGuckin on developing the city's funding proposal. He was recently named chairman of the National Chiefs' and Sheriff's PAL Council. He said, "We can't arrest our way out of anything. We need to evaluate what is going on in the community and support the community in many different ways. This just gives us another opportunity to do that."
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Comments
2025-05-29T22:35-0400 | Comment by: Chris
They have misdiagnosed their problem, so no amount of money will solve it. They are just going to flush more money down the toilet. The issue is violence, period. Not gun violence, or car violence, or hammer violence, or fist violence or knife violence.
2025-06-02T17:12-0400 | Comment by: Raconteur
So, they are going to pay the criminals $2M to advise them how to solve the "gun violence" problem. Pay the criminals, instead of locking them in jail. Yeah, that'll work! Just ask the criminals, or a gun control activist, or a Democrat!