King City responds to youth violence with a plan of action

KING CITY, Calif. (KION-TV) -- King City is looking to address a recent uptick in youth violence as the city council took first steps in developing a comprehensive plan during Tuesday night's meeting.

The city says that this is a response to the steady increase in gang violence that has erupted since the pandemic, citing that in 2023 there were 14 shootings, 24 shootings in 2024 and one shooting in 2025 so far.

The city says that data from 2024 was inflated due to the mass shooting, but trends are still at an "unacceptable" level.

The first phase of King City's plan to end youth violence was adopted in 2017, and showed immediate results.

According to the city, the overall number of shootings that took place fell dramatically from 32 to one in its first year.

However, the report also showed that shootings in the city have been on the rise in recent years, leading the council to take action.