APOPKA, Fla. — Something needs to change — that's the message from a community meeting Saturday following a string of violence in south Apopka.
- Orange County Sheriff's Office working leads in homicide cases
- Community leaders call for more programs
- Want repeat offenders to stay in jail before their day in court
Investigators with the Orange County Sheriff's Office said three people were murdered in just an eight-day span.
While the sheriff's office said the meeting wasn't an overnight fix, it did take a step in the right direction.
Deputies are now patrolling south Apopka on horseback so the community is aware they're there to keep everyone safe.
Rod Love is a concerned citizen who wants to figure out where to go from here after 19-year-old Ahmad Alonzo Davis, Altonio Dunston and Maurice Bridges were all found shot to death in the neighborhood.
"The sheriff should have been out here by now. Our commissioner should have been out here by now," a concerned citizen said at the Billie Dean Community Center meeting.
The group is calling on leadership to bring programs that could move people away from violence, like vocational training programs.
"If people get the skills that they need to go get jobs, those are some of the folks we don't have to worry about," Love said.
Apopka Police Chief Mike McKinley and Lt. Emmanuel Curry with the Orange County Sheriff's Office said they wanted to know what people in the community have to say and offer solutions.
"Members of the churches are out in this community, law enforcement needs to get out in the community, and out of their cars and build that relationship with the community," Chief McKinley said.
The concerned citizens also want to prevent repeat offenders from getting out of jail on bond before their day in court. That's why they're drafting a report to the state attorney's office on crime data in the area.
Meanwhile, the sheriff's office tells Spectrum News 13 these three homicides are still under investigation, and they're working leads.