ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Rochester parents are sharing their thoughts on a possible curfew for their kids after this weekend’s violence injured eight people.
News10NBC’s Tom Kowalski spoke with Rochester parents at the annual “Cuts for Peace” barbershop event to get their opinion.
“12:30 [a.m.] is too late for a 12-year-old to be hanging out by themselves. And in many instances, younger,” Evans said at a press conference.
Evans said he’s now exploring the feasibility of a curfew for those under the age of 18, just days after the scene left eight people, including four minors, in the hospital from gunshot wounds and a stabbing.
The mayor isn’t the only one looking for ways to minimize youth violence. Andre Morrison of Andre’s Barbershop hosted the Cuts for Peace haircut event for kids, aiming to cut down on community violence.
“We’re with the stop the violence movement. We have free toys, free haircuts. We have food, we have music. We have entertainment. We have family. We have community, to bring awareness in the community, to promote peace,” Morrison said.
While the kids got their haircuts, Kowalski spoke with parents about the potential curfew. Kenisha Stewart, the mother of two boys, feels this is the right move for the city.
“It’s the first step to implement something. I know back in the day they had something similar,” Stewart said.
“So to implement something like that, I would say it would be a first step to see what we can do to stop the violence and to lower these crime rates, such as what happened over this past weekend.”
Alminton Carvajal also favors the potential curfew.
“I went through a lot of bad paths in my past, and I had a curfew when I was 17, you know, and then I feel like that’s something that helped,” Carvajal said. “I feel like that would be the better, you know, the better next step to take for this to happen. Because I want to see my kids grow.”
Several other towns and cities in Western New York enforce youth curfews. East Rochester bars minors from public places past 11 p.m. on weekends and 10 p.m. on weeknights.
The cities of Buffalo and Batavia enforce curfews of their own with similar rules, although Batavia grants an exception if an adult over 21 accompanies the minor.
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