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'Your heart just sinks' | Winston-Salem leaders saddened, frustrated with violent crimes taking the lives of young people

A 15-year-old was shot and killed Monday night after a fight broke out on Main Street and Wright Street.

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — City officials grapple for answers as violent crime continues to take the lives of young people in Winston-Salem. 

The most recent incident took the life of a 15-year-old Parkland High School student Monday night. 

Police say Olajuwon Tillman was shot and killed after a fight broke out on the corner of Wright Street and Main Street around 7:30. 

RELATED: Parkland High School student shot, killed in Winston-Salem, police say

Tillman's death marked the 28th homicide for the city in 2019. Police say 25 people were murdered in 2018. 

City leaders admit the violence is a problem which needs to stop now. 

"When I came on council, we saw violent crimes starting to drop," said Winston-Salem City Councilman Jeff McIntosh, "Especially the homicide rate. In 2014 we saw a fairly significant drop, and then unfortunately we’ve been seeing rates rise since then."

McIntosh says hearing about someone lose their life so young is heartbreaking. 

"Your heart just sinks when you hear about 15, 16, 17-year-olds dying from gun violence and that seems to be where the numbers are occurring," said McIntosh, "That’s short of what we’re seeing over and over again."

Friends who say they were close to Tillman say he was a very nice and funny boy. They're heartbroken knowing what happened. 

McIntosh, who is also the Vice Chair of the Public Safety Committee, says the city has taken proactive steps towards a solution, like investing in a shots fired system, but the incidents still seem to occur. 

"The calls that we get for gunfire just seem to be multiplying. They're just all over the place," said McIntosh.

"We try to reach out around the country to other cities and other municipalities to try and see if we can improve things," he said. 

McIntosh says there are a lot of factors that come into play when it comes to putting a stop to the problem.

"It's doing a better job of educating, it's providing better housing. It's a super stew of things that we need to do all together and it doesn't come quickly," he said. 

Detectives with the Winston-Salem police department are still investigating the incident. If you have any information, call the Winston-Salem Police Department at 336-773-7700 or CrimeStoppers at 336-727-2800.

RELATED: They were bound, stabbed and burned during an attack. Now Winston-Salem police are looking for answers

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