Community leaders in Northern Kentucky are looking at how to address youth violence after a 12-year-old was shot multiple times in Covington Sunday."Its a very tragic situation, and we never want to see that in any community acr oss our nation," said Jerome Bowles, president of the Northern Kentucky branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). It's something that needs to be addressed, and we need to be on top of it.Bowles has been the president of the NAACP Northern Kentucky chapter for years, and works closely with the community in hopes to prevent youth violence.I asked Bowles what the current youth violence situation looks like in Northern Kentucky.WATCH: We looked into how Covington has addressed youth violence and what current police data shows Community addresses youth violence after shooting of 12-year-oldWere seeing youth violence with some access to weapons, sometimes we see youth violence in terms of physical assaults, also violence or potential violence in terms of social media posts, Bowles said.Bowles told me that kids now often take to social media to continue fights or start new fights. He said kids now also have increased access to weapons.Youth are getting more and more access to weapons, so when a social media post occurs, and then that violence manifests its way into the community, and individuals start fighting each other, we dont know who in that group may have a weapon, Bowles said.According to Covington Police Department data, reported shootings have been trending down since fiscal year 2022. Sunday evening's shooting was the eighth in Covington this fiscal year, data shows.Homicides have also been down in the city, with six in 2023 and two in 2024, according to Kentucky State Police reports.Marlena wants to hear from you. You can contact her here:In 2022, a video of a fight-turned-shooting that left three children hospitalized shocked the community. We sat down with Bowles and other community members, and they vowed to work together to combat youth violence.I asked him about that meeting and what has changed since.It did galvanize a community, our community came together, our city government came together, law enforcement came together, and everyone was very engaged in terms of creating a solution to that, Bowles said. I think what I saw, the trend of it is the energy continued.Bowles said the community has continuously hosted youth violence symposiums, ramped up youth job programs, provided counseling and worked to show kids that there are other options instead of violence.He said that the most important thing moving forward is working together and listening to what the kids in the community want.Bowles told me he and his team have frequently talked to children in the community about what solutions they would like to see. He said the most common response is a recreational space in the Covington area, where kids can meet and participate in sports, art and other activities. ...read more read less