Police: Teens were not alone at the time of fatal shooting

CEDAR RAPIDS - Aaron Richardson, 15, and Robert Humbles, 14, were not alone when the shots that took Aaron's life were fired, police said Friday.

Police Chief Wayne Jerman disclosed the information as his department continued to investigate Aaron's killing Sunday night in southeast Cedar Rapids, as well a separate killing Thursday night in northwest Cedar Rapids.

At the same time, Mayor Ron Corbett said he is calling for a community summit to address the escalation of gunfire and violence that has been afflicting the city for months.

Corbett said Friday that city residents have become 'extremely uncomfortable” with the level of gun violence this year. As of Thursday night, there have been 76 shootings or shots fired incident this year.

Corbett said he is working to set up a community summit to discuss that surge and talk about what programs are in place now - or need to be in place - to stop it.

'I don't think there is a corner of Cedar Rapids that is not concerned when you have a 15-year-old that is now dead and a 14-year-old that could be going to prison for the rest of his life,” Corbett said. 'We see this, and we look at the ages and ask, ‘How can something like that be happening in Cedar Rapids?' '

For Chief Jerman, who will work with Corbett in convening the summit, the violence amounts to a disregard for human life.

'We value human life,” Jerman said of his department. 'That's something that I feel is missing by those persons who are participating in these acts of violence. They don't share and don't have that same value of human life.”

Aaron died Sunday night after a shooting in the 1600 block of Park Avenue. Police arrested Humbles, a high school freshman, for the crime Wednesday after the teen was brought by a family member to the station for questioning.

According to court documents, Humbles confessed to the killing.

However, Jerman said the teens were not alone for the shooting.

'The were multiple persons present,” he said. 'We really can't get into more of the facts and circumstance of who was with who.”

Jerman also said he couldn't say how Humbles came in possession of the gun used in the shooting. He did say he was 'very disturbed” that those who are incapable of responsibly handing a firearm continue to be in possession of the weapons.

'A tragic ending was the result,” he said.

No one answered the door at Humbles' apartment Friday. His defense attorney declined to comment.

Corbett said the community summit needs to take on issues of a 'tender” sort - those that relate to race, poverty, drugs and fatherless children. Corbett said the problem isn't with police.

'We have a handful of young people who need to find a purpose in life other than shooting at each other,” he said. 'And that's not a law enforcement issue, it's a community issue.”

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