Statement from the Mayor

Today, we are once again confronting an incident of violence among teens in our community. The shooting at City Lake Park among a group of young men is a tragedy for our community. We are praying for the families of the injured. We are also praying for everyone impacted by this thoughtless display of violence.

I know many of you are angry and scared. There are too many teens involved in violent situations and too many incidents involving guns. This reckless disregard for safety needs to stop.

I share this feeling of sadness when darkness covers our community. But I am going to encourage everyone to look toward the light and find ways to keep this from happening again.

First, parents need to engage with their children and make sure they do not have access to guns. Intervene with teens who may be engaging in violent behavior and help steer them to better choices. As community members, let's support the majority of students who are good kids who want to learn and live a life free from violence.

Second, instead of putting down our community, I encourage everyone to work to lift it up. Volunteer your time, support youth programs and don't simply lump all teens into the same category.

Finally, if you want true action that can impact these problems, contact your legislators and demand stronger truancy laws and give communities back the ability to establish a juvenile curfew. Empower our teachers and administrators with the ability to discipline students and hold them accountable for their actions. All of these efforts have shown great success in other parts of our country, and we need it now in Mesquite, Texas.

And I ask everyone, please pray for our community and let us unite together with a resolve to ensure our great city continues to be a place where people want to live, work and play.