KNOXVILLE, Tennessee (AP) — “That’s where I got shot,” said Rashaad Woods, nodding toward a convenience store in Knoxville’s “gun zone.” There were bullet holes in a church’s walls. Nearby was a shuttered nightclub where some people were killed.
“There was a point in time I wasn’t comfortable standing here,” said Kodi Mills, 45. “But that time is passing.”
The men work for Turn Up Knox, a year-old outreach program that mentors kids and defuses situations that could escalate into violence. It’s a centerpiece of the Tennessee city’s attempt to follow a science-based playbook in fighting a surge in shootings.
In recent years, research reviews have begun to conclude there’s enough evidence to say which public health interventions prevent shootings, which do not, and which need more study. Knoxville is one of a growing number of cities teaming with researchers to develop an evidence-based plan to stop the bleeding.
Knoxville’s program was in reaction to a dramatic rise in shooting deaths and includes policing changes and other efforts. However, it does not count on new gun restrictions. That was important, since Tennessee has repeatedly moved to loosen gun laws.
“I wanted to have answers,” said Knoxville Mayor Indya Kincannon. “I wanted to be able to fix it.”
Nearly non-existent not long ago, gun violence prevention research has experienced a small boom in the wake of mounting shooting deaths, expanded funding and burgeoning advocacy.
Two decades ago, only about 20 U.S. researchers were focused on gun violence prevention. Last fall, more then 600 gathered in Washington, D.C., for what’s been described as the largest-ever national conference on the issue. An even bigger turnout is expected at a conference this fall.
Funding continues to be just a fraction of what is spent on other leading causes of death. Still, research has “just exploded” in the last few years, said Rebecca Cunningham, a gun violence researcher at the University of Michigan.
The work addresses the worst firearm violence in decades. Researchers estimate there were more than 48,000 firearm deaths last year, with gun-related homicide and suicide rates not seen since the early 1990s. Gunshots are now the leading cause of death of U.S. children and teenagers.
Though some big questions remain, there is a growing consensus about what programs and policies make a difference — and which don’t.
According to an assessment by the Rand Corp., measures that work include laws that permit charging adults who let children have unsupervised access to guns, well-enforced background checks and policies that ban guns from people subject to domestic violence restraining orders.
Measures that don’t: stand-your-ground and concealed carry laws, which studies consistently show increase gun homicides, and gun buyback programs, which have been shown to have little, if any, effect on crime.
About 16% of Knoxville’s population is Black, and about 40% live in poverty, many in East Knoxville, where firearm violence has surged.
As in other U.S. cities, violence escalated during the COVID-19 pandemic, when adults were out of work, kids were not in school and people were anxious.
“It was a very unsettled time,” Mayor Kincannon said.