An unnamed staff member at a York City meeting offered condolences to the family of a person who died after a late-night street fight and urged families and community members to intervene to prevent youth violence.

The speaker said they witnessed a fight after dropping off a friend following Halloween festivities, called police and then saw the altercation end with a single small gunshot. “I called the police immediately and ran over,” the speaker said, adding that the victim did not initially appear to be bleeding but was clearly in pain. The speaker criticized bystanders who “did nothing to stop their friends from fighting” and said that anger at those friends was part of why condolences were addressed to the family rather than the friends.

The speaker warned that fights can escalate quickly to deadly violence and said the loss “hurts our entire city,” urging parents, aunts, uncles and others to talk with young people about avoiding fights. “We can do better than this,” the speaker said, calling for community action to show young people their value and deter retaliatory violence.

No formal action, motion or vote was recorded on the issue during the provided remarks.