Everett parents worried about stray bullets following uptick in gang violence

EVERETT -- Some Everett residents are scared to leave their homes because of an increase in gang violence.

“I have a 7-month-old baby, I don’t really go out much unless I have to because I feel like if I go out I will get shot at,” said one mom.

The Everett mom was too frightened to show her face on camera, but she says the crime in her neighborhood terrifies her.

Surveillance video captured a recent incident just down the street. A fight led to a drive-by shooting, which put innocent people at risk.

“It's crazy having to come home to cop cars all around your neighborhood. It's like, why did I rent here? I shouldn't have,” resident Kim said.

Everett police admit gang activity is up in recent months -- five confirmed shootings so far this year involving rival gang members.

“We have undercover units, we have detectives assigned to this, we have additional patrols,” said Everett Police Department spokesman Aaron Snell.

But police say they can’t fight it alone.

“It's a community issue -- parents need to be involved with their kids and the community as a whole,” Snell said.

Organizations, such as the Casino Road Kids Ministries, is trying to mentor children starting at a young age, so they stay away from gangs.

“The kids involved in gangs, they are kids, too, they need someone in their corner as well. We want to reach out to every kid and say, hey, you have value, you have purpose,” Tryone McMorris, of Casino Road Kids Ministries, said.

McMorris hopes that extra compassion will curb the violence.

“We know that they are much bigger than the negative stuff they are doing,” McMorris said.

McMorris is also urging people in the community to mentor kids from going down the wrong path.

But concerned parents say they can’t risk waiting for things to get better.

“We kept hearing about shooting after shooting, violence after violence, we decided to move out.”

Police are investigating the recent cases. Two 15-year-olds were arrested suspected in a March drive-by caught on surveillance.