Mayor: Let's take city back

Wednesday, August 23, 2006 Plans are being made to require security officers at events at city venues. By HAROLD GWIN VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER YOUNGSTOWN — Mayor Jay Williams believes people can choose to do one of two things after the shooting death of a man at a youth football game Saturday: Sit at home, or push forward with renewed commitment to safety and taking back the community. He's choosing to do the latter. It would be unfortunate should teams from suburban communities decide to no longer bring their children to play in Youngstown, Williams said. There have been peewee games played in the city for decades without incident, and those games will continue to be played at city venues, he added. Fears for children's safety are shared by every parent in Youngstown. No one can guarantee absolute safety, but Youngstown will do everything it can to make those venues as safe as possible, Williams vowed. Larry C. Jones, 31, of Ravenwood Avenue, was shot and fatally wounded during a Volney Rogers Youth Football League game at the former South High School stadium Saturday. The man who shot him in front of at least 600 people escaped and was still at large late Tuesday. The Mahoning County coroner's office said Jones was shot multiple times, but the only fatal wound was a shot to the chest. How it started Police said the fight began in the stands, and the shooter fired at Jones, who jumped over a rail onto the sidelines and fell to the ground. Witnesses said the gunman followed and shot Jones again as he lay on the ground. What was behind shooting Police initially reported that the shooting was drug-related, but said late Tuesday that family members told them a long-standing domestic dispute involving Jones and the shooter was behind the shooting. Police Sunday said the shooting suspect was Anthony M. Caulton, 25, of Youngstown, but have since referred to him only as a "person of interest" in the case. Police hadn't found him as of Tuesday evening. Jones, son of Letricia Jones and the late Larry Carter, isn't the only member of his family lost to gun violence. His brother, Nick Carter, 16, was an East High School junior when he was shot and killed after a football game played at Youngstown State University's stadium in October 1993, according to Vindicator files. Williams said he's been working with the Volney Rogers league to get another game played at the former South High stadium as soon as possible. It's important to send a message that the city and its residents won't be controlled by the type of person who committed the shooting, he said. "This is an isolated incident. This could have happened anywhere," Williams said. Police said it had no relation to the football game, except that both men were in the stadium. Those attending the game Saturday said there was no security provided, and Williams said he's addressing that issue with the city Park and Recreation Department, which controls access to city recreational venues. He said he learned that the department hadn't required that security be provided as part of the league's use of the stadium, and police said they were never asked to provide security. What's being done Williams said he's working with the department in an effort to see that security will be a requirement at events at all city facilities. The mayor said he's also working with the league to see that appropriate counseling is made available to the children who witnessed the shooting. Clinical counselors and faith-based institutions are being asked to provide staff to visit the team practice sites to speak with the children as a group. Individual counseling also will be made available, he said, adding that details will be announced later today. Eugenia Harris, Volney Rogers Coaches Association commissioner, issued a statement Tuesday saying the league will focus on the children and make every effort to make counseling available. gwin@vindy.com