2 teens shot in separate incidents on Tuesday night

The shootings of two Houston teens, in two separate incidents, have caught the attention of the mayor and the police chief.

“What keeps us up at night I think the number one public safety threat to this city is the violent crime that’s going on here almost nightly,” says Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo.

Tuesday night was no different.  Around 7:15 p.m., 18-year-old Darian Bolden was shot to death in the Peninsula Apartments on West Fuqua.  Four hours later, 16-year-old Matthew Francis was shot in the head in the Garden Oaks Apartments near Griggs.

”Just like we placed a lot of resources on protecting the president when he came here, it’s important for us to do the same and protect the people who live in our city,” says Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner. 

The mayor has given the Houston Police Department $1 million to use for overtime.

”That million dollars helps us when we need to put additional resources in certain areas,” Chief Acevedo explains.

”It doesn’t make any sense for families to be terrorized and to live in communities and they can’t walk in those communities, go to the stores in those communities, go to the parks,” adds Mayor Turner who says he's using several strategies to stop this violence.  ”We’re working with our Anti-Gang Force so they’re very active in all of these respective communities.” 

”This gang warfare going on in south Houston, too often innocent people are struck,” explains the chief.   

”If you know of people committing these crimes, engaged in these shootings, burglaries or criminal activity please let us know,” says Mayor Turner. 

”Check your humanity and come forward.  Give us information.  You don’t even have to give us your name,” adds Chief Acevedo.             

The chief says it can be tough to get people to talk when a crime is committed by a gang.  He wants to stress you can report information without revealing your identity. The chief also says violent crimes actually continue to go down here in Houston.