Murders, armed robberies, and carjackings. Crimes that are increasingly being carried out by children.
One of the most shocking: the murder of Ruxin Wang, a South Nashville grandfather who was gunned down just outside his home. Police say his killer, Myeisha Brown, was just 16 at the time.
"We're seeing the uptick of crime, not just homicide but the robberies happening in every community," said Yun Wang, Ruxin's son.
It's crimes like these that led Metro Police to create a youth violence task force. A task force they say is working. In just the past month 34 juveniles have been arrested, 27 guns have been taken off the streets, and seven stolen cars have been recovered.
"We know the two things that are causing us problems with the juveniles are guns and cars," said Lt. Blaine Whited.
The task force is focused on three areas of the city where these kids are committing crimes. But police say they can only do so much. Most of the problems are starting at home.
"We’re finding there’s a lack of parenting with these kids, and that's something that's alarming to us. That's something the juvenile court system and the police department come in and assist to find out where that gap is," said Lt. Whited.
Wang is hoping more can be done in the these teen's home life, that would prevent another family from feeling the loss of a loved one due to gun violence.
"At the same time the police department can do one side but the major problem is in the family and school, and they need to teach the kids about morality and how sacred life is," said Wang.
