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Guns, Suicide Focus of Forum in Bell Gardens : Youths: Students in junior and senior high schools explore the roots of violence.

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SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

The subject was “Kids Killing Kids,” and scores of junior and senior high school students from Bell Gardens sat motionless, listening as one of their own talked about the temptation of a gun.

“Sometimes it’s weird because I’m in my house and my parents pressure me a lot about my grades and that’s when you start to think about suicide,” said a seventh-grade student from Suva Intermediate School. “We have a gun in the house. My dad keeps it for protection and he taught me how to use it. Sometimes, I get it from my mom’s room and I’m thinking of what I’m going to do.”

Within minutes, a second girl, an eighth-grader, approached the microphone. “I’ve thought about suicide too . . . .” That was all she could utter before she choked on her words and ran out of Ross Auditorium to the privacy of the bathroom.

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About 150 students attended a recent open microphone forum hosted by the city and its police department, at which they were encouraged to talk about violence in their community and discuss alternatives.

Officials expected talk of gangs and guns but the forum focused equally on other adolescent conflicts. Emotions ran so high that several students were whisked away for immediate crisis counseling.

The students had been assigned to watch a television special also titled “Kids Killing Kids,” which dealt with teen suicide, gang violence and the dangers of guns, even if used in self-defense or to impress others.

The purpose of the forum was to help students realize they are not alone and to help city officials better understand the needs of the community’s youth, event organizers said.

“We are the ones who have to go out on the street and get the people who are bleeding and dying and we don’t have the answers either,” said Police Chief Andy Romero, adding that Bell Gardens officers responded to gunshot calls more than once each day in 1993.

“A lot of times we adults discuss these issues of kids and violence, but we don’t live it every day with them on campus so this may give us a better idea of what to do to help them in this battle,” said Assistant City Manager Karen Nobrega.

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Initially shy, students slowly came forward, prompted by Bell Gardens High resource officer Gilbert Gamboa. One described how a classmate threatened her with a gun, another described conflicts with her parents and her life as a runaway, a third told of being dumped by her boyfriend and of her subsequent suicide attempt.

City officials helped students come up with nonviolent solutions to some of their problems and urged them to seek outside help.

“Don’t let a negative response from your parents block you,” advised City Manager Charles Gomez. “Go to your teacher or to the police . . . A lot of times the parent is the problem. Keep that in mind, too.”

Gamboa said about 600 of 3,200 Bell Gardens High School students have approached him with various conflicts during the past year. They report seeing weapons on campus, conflicts with their parents and in their relationships, and talk about drugs, gangs and suicide, he said.

“Sometimes they may think it’s really drastic but we say ‘It may not be as bad as you think,’ ” Gamboa said. “We have resources and we’ll help you.”

Bell Gardens High seniors Karen Ray and Christy Defries say they have sought Gamboa’s advice many times.

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