CA attorney general holds South Bay roundtable on gun violence

SAN JOSE, Calif. - In a West San Jose office on Tuesday, California's Attorney General Rob Bonta sat at a semi-circle table, where he led a round-table discussion on gun violence.

"Today was another example of our team at the DOJ coming together with community leaders to make a commitment to solving common problems that we share," he said.

Bonta is drawing on his days as a legislator to try and enact meaningful change as a member of the executive branch. He and community stakeholders from the Bay Area and Central Coast gathered at First Five Santa Clara County, to brainstorm ways to better reduce the incidence of gun violence.

"We are living in a crisis. It’s an epidemic going on where you got guns being carried by people who are mentally ill, by people who are angry, who are hurt," said Rudy Corpuz, executive director of United Playaz, a San Francisco-based violence prevention and youth development organization.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 2021 had the highest number of Americans die of gun-related injuries. That includes record numbers of murders and suicides.

"A lot of the same individuals who are engaging in gun violence in one city are also engaging in other types of violence or even gun violence in their cities. And so, our report was able to link that." – Reygan Cunningham, co-director, Calif. Partnership for Safe Communities

The state responded by creating an Office of Gun Violence Prevention within the Department of Justice.

"We have more guns in more places and that creates more gun violence and more gun deaths. That is the challenge that we’re facing," said Bonta.

The 100 people assembled for the mid-morning roundtable and news conference exchanged best practices and polices from the ground up, they said, to produce positive changes.

"RYSE cultivates loving and healing relationships to build loving, healing power to build loving and healing systems we all deserve," said Kanwarpal Dhaliwali of RYSE Youth Center of Richmond. Added Reygan Cunningham, co-director of the California Partnership for Safe Communities, "We help cities and community-based organizations reduce violence at the city-wide level."

Cunningham pointed to her just-released research showing cities share patterns of violence, and the consequences that often follow.

"A lot of the same individuals who are engaging in gun violence in one city are also engaging in other types of violence or even gun violence in their cities. And so, our report was able to link that," she said.

Cunningham suggested a regional intervention strategy to prevent gun violence, instead of cities working independently.

The state is providing $75M a year through the ‘California Violence Intervention Program’ which is earmarked for cities experiencing high rates of violence.

"We need to be able to provide services that are ongoing," said Philip Rodgriguez, founder of New Hope for Youth, a San Jose-based group that is dedicated to serving and reaching out to young individuals facing adversity and those at risk, along with their families and the community.

Bonta and others believe brainstorming better ideas across the state, through multiple roundtables, will lead to better services, and a better outcome in the battle against gun violence.

Jesse Gary is a reporter based in the station's South Bay bureau. Follow him on the X platform (formerly Twitter), @JesseKTVU2 and on Instagram, @jessegontv