Flint Mayor Dayne Walling Joins with Other Mayors from Across the Country at White House to Discuss Youth Violence

Flint Mayor Dayne Walling joined President Obama and other mayors at the White House for a Roundtable on Youth Violence this afternoon. Following the meeting with the President, another meeting was convened with Attorney General Holder that included the mayors and police chiefs. City of Flint Public Safety Director and Chief of Police Alvern Lock attended the AG's meeting with Mayor Walling.

After the meetings Walling said "it was an honor to meet with President Obama and Attorney General Holder to discuss strategies to reduce youth violence. President Obama is clearly committed to the federal government being a partner in knocking the crime rate down especially among youth and young adults. With the tragedies we experienced this summer, I am more motivated than ever to find new solutions to save lives."

The City of Flint has already benefited from the assistance of federal law enforcement and community development initiatives, such as U.S. Attorney MCquade's Zero Tolerance enforcement of federal gun crimes. There was significant discussion at the meeting about community based violence prevention strategies such as the ceasefire model, known in Flint as Lifelines.

Some of the other mayors to join Walling included: Mayor Cory Booker of Newark, Mayor Mitch Landrieu of New Orleans, Mayo Jean Quan of Oakland and Mayor Vincent Gray of Washington D.C.