ORLANDO, Fla. – Orange-Osceola State Attorney Monique Worrell announced that she will be hosting a full-day gun violence prevention summit on Monday, according to a news release.
“This whole event is about violence prevention (in the Ninth Judicial Circuit) so we are going to be putting together collaborative efforts as elected officials, appointed officials, to see how we can best collaborate on reducing the violence particularly gun violence in our community,” Worrell said. “We as elected officials here in Orange and Osceola counties have the focus on what’s happening here and how we can reduce the violence in our community.”
According to the release, the morning session will focus on community leadership and takes place 9:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. at the State Attorney’s Office located at 415 N. Orange Ave. in Orlando.
Worrell will meet with local public safety leaders and policy makers in closed-door sessions in the morning session where they will focus on further gun violence prevention efforts. In the afternoon session, local officials and crime-prevention experts will gather and they will attend a presentation by the gun violence prevention organization EveryTown for Gun Safety.
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“I think that ultimately all of us collectively have the focus on ensuring the safety of the individuals who live here in the Ninth Judicial Circuit,” Worrell said. “Our methods may be different, our philosophy may be different, but because we have a common goal, I believe that common goal is going to be stronger than any differences we may have.”
She added that the summit was initially scheduled for December 2022, but was delayed several times due to scheduling conflicts and the string of Pine Hills shootings in February. Worrell further said news crew were not allowed in this portion of the meeting “because you guys make it messy.”
“When the community, when the cameras are in the room, people have the need to posture and do whatever they need to do so they can impress their particular audience,” Worrell said. “We are behind closed doors, we can take that off and we can just be vulnerable and transparent with each other and work on what we need to do to make this better for the community.”
A second public conversation and townhall portion will run from 6-8 p.m. at the Experience Christian Center at 5230 Indian Hill Rd. in Orlando.
In the evening portion, Worrell is scheduled to host a public conversation with the community about how to successfully prevent violence, including discussing what was covered in the morning session, according to the release. Bishop Derrick McRae of the Experience Christian Center will moderate the event, and the public is invited to participate.
“We have to do more than complain about the violence that is plaguing this community and make serious investments in prevention—investments based on research and evidence about what works,” Worrell said. “Finger pointing is getting us nowhere. I am excited to bring together a diverse group of leaders and experts to enhance collaboration and develop comprehensive strategies, so that, in the future, we can tell people we’ve prevented harm from occurring, rather than saying we are sorry it happened.”
Recently, Worrell has been at odds with Gov. Ron DeSantis over her record on prosecuting crime. In March, DeSantis said, “You have to hold people accountable.” “(The) state attorney in Orlando thinks that you don’t prosecute people and that’s the way that you somehow have better communities. That does not work.”
Last week, Worrell accused DeSantis of pursuing a “witch hunt” after receiving a request from a state committeewoman for information on two human trafficking cases.
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