SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) – City officials, including Mayor Mendenhall, Salt Lake City Police Chief Mike Brown and U.S. Attorney for the District of Utah Trina A. Higgins, among others, held a meeting at the Public Safety Building in Downtown Salt Lake to discuss how “Project Safe Neighborhoods” is impacting the prevention of gun violence here in Salt Lake City.

“This is about kids,” Mayor Mendenhall began. “Kids in America today are more likely to die by shooting than any other cause of death. This is about our kids. Kids killing kids. Violence from kids.”

Earlier this week, news broke of a domestic shooting that left one person dead. A brother reportedly shot and killed his sister at a home in Salt Lake City. Both of them were minors. Last year, there were over 20,000 deaths by firearms including murders, accidental shootings and suicides.

Police Chief Mike Brown spoke out on guns getting to the streets, saying many have not been properly secured.

“Some have been stolen out of homes, some out of cars, but none-the-less, they’re in the hands of people who shouldn’t have them,” Brown said.

Reducing gun violence is one of the Salt Lake City Police Department‘s top priorities. They are putting measures in place and are constantly learning about new tactics to stop tragedies before they happen. Last month, SLCPD reported confiscating 12 firearms that were obtained illegally.

U.S. Attorney for the District of Utah Trina A. Higgins is optimistic about the progress going forward.

“By combining the resources and the knowledge of our federal agencies with our local agencies, we are improving our ability across the board to be able to protect the citizens – every citizen – who lives in this community,” Higgins said.

City officials are working together in bettering the safety of Salt Lake City. They are hoping to reduce the possibility of gun violence wherever possible.