3 Mesquite teens killed in incidents involving stolen guns; community reacts

MESQUITE, Texas - Three teenagers have lost their lives to gun violence in Mesquite in recent days. Now the community is partnering with law enforcement officials to find solutions.

Mesquite Teen Gun Violence

The backstory:

In late July, Mesquite police surrounded a house on Pecan Creek Drive after two teenagers were shot. A 16-year-old was killed, and a 15-year-old was wounded. Another 15-year-old juvenile was charged with murder.

Two days later, a 16-year-old and a 15-year-old were found shot in the bedroom of a home on Rusk Drive. Both teens later died at the hospital. 

While the two cases were unrelated, police said they both involved stolen guns.   

Big picture view:

According to a 2023 Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives study of the seven largest cities in North Texas, 4,000 guns were stolen mostly from unlocked vehicles.

"So, people are putting guns in their cars, not locking them, and, you know, people are just going by trying door handles. And they’re finding those guns. Anybody with a Ring camera will tell you most of the people doing that are anywhere from 15 to 17 years of age. And so, that is just absolutely guns just going about 10 a day into the hands of kids. And so that’s what we want to stop," said Mesquite Police Chief David Gill.

Local perspective:

Members of the community are now partnering with the Mesquite Police Department, as well as the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office, to try to stop the violence.

They will host a meeting on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Calvary Community Church on Clay Mathis Road.

"In times past, we hear about what’s going on in other cities. But now it’s on our home turf. And it’s very alarming," said Pastor Reginald Jefferson from New Hope Baptist Church. 

"I’m just tired of waking up to, ‘Hey, there was a kid killed last night by another kid.’ And to have it hit twice in one weekend, to get that wake-up twice in one weekend, is just too much. We got to do something," Chief Gill said.

Gun locks will be given out to anyone who wants one.

"The youth are getting too much access to too many guns. And so, you have three youth dead – two 16-year-olds dead last week and a 15-year-old. Of course, that’s a problem," said Carl Mitchell with the Tri-Cities NAACP.

There will also be advice for parents hoping to keep their teens safe.

"We’re going to have to start invading their privacy. What’s in your backpack? What’s in the shoebox in your room?" said Henry Brown with the Mesquite NAACP chapter. "We’ve got to have those kinds of parents to start speaking truth to power and just stand flat foot and let these kids know that you cannot run this house. If you don’t correct it in your house, the streets and the schools, you can forget about it."