An Asheville pastor who says he had gang ties as a young man told Fox News Digital that city leaders ignored his decade-long push for a youth gang-prevention program before recent violence rattled the North Carolina tourist city.
Dr. Ronald Gates first brought the proposal to Asheville officials in 2016, urging them to invest in early intervention for children he believes could otherwise be pulled into dangerous groups and retaliatory violence.
The issue has taken on new urgency after a string of retaliatory shootings left two people dead and seven others wounded. City officials have stopped short of calling the violence gang-related, instead describing it as retaliation between groups of friends…