Juvenile crime on the rise; Memphis mother tries to find solutions to help decrease

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) - As Juvenile crime is on the rise, Memphis Shelby County Crime Commission estimates this year around 500 juveniles will be charged with serious violent crimes.

It’s why one Memphis mother, LaWanda Taylor is looking to be a part of the solution.

Her 33-year-old son Shamarez Taylor was murdered in August. He was a father of four who was found shot to death on Belvedere Boulevard.

“It’s been extremely, extremely hard and we’re coping as best as we can,” said Taylor.

The investigation is ongoing, no arrests have been made in the case nor do we know the ages of the suspect. However, after watching surveillance footage Taylor believes teenagers are responsible for her son’s death.

“We don’t have any reason why someone would--why three teenagers would walk up to basically assassinate him at my brother’s doorstep,” said Taylor.

Just like city, county, and state leaders at Saturday’s Crime Commission Forum spoke about approaches to reduce juvenile crime, Taylor said she’s also taking a stand of her own, by forming a group on gun violence.

Its mission is to help the victims of crime.

“It’s going to be called Mothers Against Gun Violence, Inc. We’re in the early stages of starting this,” said Taylor.

To combat these crimes, police chief CJ Davis said a community effort is needed to improve public safety.

“What we want to do is continue building foster trust so that we can build a relationship where we’re solving problems in crime together,” said Davis.

33-year-old Shamarez Taylor’s murder still remains unsolved. If you have any information involving this case, You can leave a tip anonymously with Crime Stoppers by calling 528-CASH.

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