BR group holds crime prevention meeting, to combat neighborhood crime

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - Baton Rouge community members and business owners in the Melrose area put their heads together Friday afternoon to try to tackle crime.

The gathering comes just days after a woman and her unborn child were shot and killed in the area over the weekend.

Kerisha Johnson was shot and killed early Sunday morning when she was picking up family members from a party.

Three 19-year-olds were charged with her death and are facing years in prison.

Organizers with the Melrose East Crime Prevention Board made it clear that crime is not allowed, and they hope to combat gun violence by coming together.

Community members who have businesses and have lived in the area for years say they want their community back. They hope to address the problem now before it gets worse.

“I felt like it was a good time to make the point that we are not just sitting back and taking this. We are in this neighborhood attempting to improve the neighborhood and improve the impression and opinion of this neighborhood,” said Brian Brousseau, President of the Melrose East Crime Prevention Board.

The Melrose Crime Prevention Board invites community members to another meeting next week, where they will continue that discussion.

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