VERONA, Miss. (WTVA) -- Robert Polk says what happened here is a senseless crime.
He says someone deliberately destroyed a car windshield in his neighborhood.
Polk says too many young people are turning to crime in Verona.
"13, 14-year-old boys are out all the time at night. That's the only problem I've got. You know, coming out and seeing little kids. People always wonder why because they're not getting their learning from home. It starts in the home first," Polk said.
Law enforcement officials hope to hit home with a gang awareness event to be held over the weekend in Verona.
The city park is the ideal place to hold it, too.
There is graffiti at the park in the pavilion and under the slide.
Officers say the six-point star found there represents the gang known as the Gangster Disciples.
The numbers four and seven are the alphabet letters G and D.
"Throughout the city, we're beginning to see signs which we call that marking your territory, and what they do is start painting the town," Chief Anthony Anderson said. "They call that graffiti, and they paint that across town, and it costs the city money to cover up these signs. And so we've been working with the judges and the judicial process trying to come up with some new laws that will help us to put some penalties on these children and these gang members."
"I guess around 15, 16 years old...would be a good time to talk to people and let them know they're on the wrong road and get them on the right track," Verona resident Joe White said.
Getting them on the right track actually starts at a younger age.
Chief Anderson says many children under the age of 13 are already being lured into the gang lifestyle. He says they are used to commit crimes for older gang members or to prove themselves.
"What we're trying to do is catch the children early on so that we can implement some smart tools into them so that they don't become a part of a crime," Chief Anderson added.
Everyone is encouraged to attend the event to be held at 12 p.m. Saturday at the Verona City Park.
