CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio — Cleveland Heights Mayor Kahlil Seren sent a letter to the community on Sunday evening calling for an end to a violent start to the new year.
In the letter, Mayor Seren highlighted a troubling trend as 2024 has seen more homicides in Cleveland Heights than 2022 and 2023 combined.
Last week a 14-year-old turned himself in after allegedly killing 15-year-old Narayia Thomas. And 22-year-old Alexander Gurley who was shot and killed at a house in the city. A suspect or suspects have yet to be identified in the murder.
Seren expressed emotions of anger and worry in the letter and made a plea to the public to help bring those responsible for the death of Alexander Gurley to justice.
Mayor Kahlil Seren's letter can be seen in full below:
"Dear Neighbor,
"It has been a difficult week. Within the first four days of 2024, we had as many homicides in our city as we had in all of 2022 and 2023. News of the tragic deaths of 15-year-old Narayia Thomas on January 1 and 22-year-old Alexander Gurley on January 4 shocked our community and left many of us shaken.
"In the face of such violence, it’s hard to know what to think and feel.
"We’re saddened and grieve for and with the families and friends of the victims. We want to wrap our arms around them and share their pain.
"We’re angry. We want those who committed these terrible acts to face justice.
"We’re worried. We’re concerned about what these types of crimes say about Cleveland Heights and the kind of life we can live here.
"And, more than anything, we want it to stop. Any amount of violence is too much, and it’s made more heartrending when young people are involved.
"When something senseless happens, we have to make the world make sense again. I believe that’s a task we can only accomplish together.
"We can start by finding the people responsible.
"The 14-year-old who allegedly killed Miss Thomas surrendered himself to authorities earlier this week, and the dedicated men and women in the Cleveland Heights Police Department are diligently investigating Mr. Gurley’s killing. But they need your help.
"If you have any information about the shooting that occurred in the 3300 block of E. Overlook Road at roughly 8:20 on January 4, please contact CHPD detectives at 216-216-291-3883 or Crime Stoppers at 216-252-7463. Someone must have seen or heard something, and if you think it’s you, please let us know.
"We also need to work toward reducing violence in our community. In 2023, I announced that violence prevention, particularly among young people, would become a major priority of my administration in the year to come. We secured more than $400,000 in grant funding to create a comprehensive set of programs addressing the root causes of violence and helping those most susceptible to violence make better choices that help lead them away from violent crime. These programs will be the start of a community-wide effort and will require care and attention from all of us in the long term.
"Reducing violence in our city also must include doing whatever we can to limit the all-too-easy access to guns. Against a state government that believes the solution to gun violence is more guns, Cleveland Heights is frustratingly limited in what it can do on its own. But we can join with other cities to insist we stem the rising tide of guns that threatens our neighborhoods. And our safety forces can and will focus on perpetrators who have demonstrated their willingness to use guns in service of a crime.
"Finally, we need to look out for one another. Cleveland Heights prides itself on being accepting, but violence—both physical and psychological—is something we can’t accept. As individuals and groups, we need to stand up, step in, or call out for help to interrupt and prevent violence wherever we see it.
"As much as we would like, we can’t turn back the clock and bring Naraiya and Alexander back to us. But we can honor their lives by dedicating ourselves to building a safer, more peaceful Cleveland Heights for all of us. I hope you will join me in the effort.
"Sincerely,
"Kahlil Seren, Mayor"