Expert weighs in on how to stop recent rise in youth violence

Recently, there’s been no shortage of crimes involving young people, both here in the D.C. region and across the country. 

So to find out why is it happening and what can be done to stop it, FOX 5's Josh Rosenthal spoke to an expert on the topic.

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Dr. Amy Klinger with the Educator’s School Safety Network tells FOX 5 that the issue of youth violence is becoming a trend.

"Clearly the horrific incident in Texas is sort of the ultimate extreme, but we also have seen really significant upticks in aggressive violent behavior occurring in schools that doesn’t rise to the level of a mass murder," Dr. Klinger tells FOX 5.

Just in the past week, FOX 5 reported on an incident in Woodbridge, where police arrested a 15-year-old boy in connection to the shooting of a nine-year-old girl. FOX 5 also reported this week on the deadly stabbing of an 18-year-old high school student in Alexandria after a fight involving dozens of kids

Nationally, the tragedy in Texas shook the country after an 18-year-old shooter killed 19 children and two teachers inside an elementary school.

Dr. Klinger tells FOX 5 that she believes a myriad of factors are causing this rise in violent incidents involving youth.

"The social isolation and all of the things that happened as a result of the pandemic, an increasingly polarized divisive society, a lack of consequences and accountability," said Dr. Klinger.

READ MORE: Uvalde school shooting: Police inaction at center of investigation

So, what can be done?

According to Dr. Klinger, the best solution is to take a community approach. 

"There is a law enforcement component, there is a family component, there is a school component, and there is a leadership community component, and everybody has to be collaborating and cooperating to fix this," explained Dr. Klinger.

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Dr. Klinger also mentioned that fixing the issue will not be easy, and it will take a great deal of compromise from community members.