PALATKA, Fla. — After the shooting deaths of two people in Palatka on Christmas, the community came together Thursday for a town hall to discuss ways to stop youth violence.

On Christmas night, 17-year-old Dorrion McKinnon and 23-year-old Tyree Gilyard were killed and another man was also shot.

“We’re in a state of shock,” said Palatka City Commissioner Justin Campbell, who hosted the town hall. “A mother of a young child, 17 years old, who would have been celebrating his birthday in just a couple of days, having to bury her son on Saturday. It tends to hurt us all so we want to come together and heal as a community.”

It was a standing room with close to 100 people at the town hall. Multiple people said they had family members who’d been victims of gun violence, and even more people said they wanted to volunteer and learn how they could help.

“We need mentors,” one woman said during the meeting. “We need things to do, but we need to ask them, ‘Why are they so angry?’”

Many people said there should be more activities and programs for young people.

“Find something else to do other than hurt each other,” said another man. “Play basketball, football, do something positive.”

Many people volunteered to be mentors, voicing the following mindset.

“Be a part of the solution, not just the part of ‘say something needs to change,’ I would like to be a part of that change,” said Audrey Davis.

Campbell said there are opportunities now to mentor kids through the Police Athletic League. Leaders with the Family Life Center and the Jenkins Community Center said they have open gym times and game nights young people have been using, but they want more to join.

“We just want to highlight some of the positive things that we do have going on in the community in hopes of parents pushing and encouraging their kids to become a part of those things,” Campbell said.

Learn more about mentoring at the Police Athletic League’s website here.