The bullets on Enfield Police Chief Eric Johnson's desk paint a grim picture of the issue he's dealing with.
In 30 years working in law enforcement, he said he's never dealt with so much youth violence. Johnson said most of the cases of shots fired in his town involve people from age 14-19.
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"There used to be a time when you looked and talked about certain crimes like this, [and] it only encompassed, most people thought, your bigger metropolitan cities, but now these crimes are everywhere," he said. "In some cases, these juveniles are better armed than some of my officers are,"
WRAL News reached out to law enforcement agencies across eastern North Carolina, finding many of them are dealing with an increase in youth violence — especially in the more rural communities.
From July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024, the Halifax County Sheriff's Office took 12 guns from teenagers. Just two years before that, the number was 9, and the year before that, it was 5.
Johnson said young people are not just getting ahold of guns; they are also committing crimes with them. In Raleigh, WRAL reported nine people ages 17 or younger have been charged with murder this year. The youngest is 14.
On Tuesday, The Goldsboro Police Department investigated two young people for breaking into Tobacco World & Vape. The younger suspect, at age 12, was also charged with possession of a gun.
WRAL News asked Johnson what could be done.
"The criminal justice community is sitting down, looking at this data, looking at the laws, conferring with the DA's office and juvenile services to see what can be done about it, Johnson said.
However, he says it will take time, and there is no easy fix.