North Carolina mountain town ‘whitewashing’ violence amid crime concerns, says pastor with former gang ties

An Asheville pastor who says he had gang ties as a young man told Fox News Digital that city leaders ignored his decade-long push for a youth gang-prevention program before recent violence rattled the North Carolina tourist city.

Dr.

Ronald Gates first brought the proposal to Asheville officials in 2016, urging them to invest in early intervention for children he believes could otherwise be pulled into dangerous groups and retaliatory violence.

The issue has taken on new urgency after a string of retaliatory shootings left two people dead and seven others wounded.

City officials have stopped short of calling the violence gang-related, instead describing it as retaliation between groups of friends.

MOUNTAIN GETAWAY ROCKED BY ‘LATEST CHAPTER’ OF DEADLY VIOLENCE AS OFFICIALS AVOID GANG LABEL IN TOURIST TOWN Gates believes that distinction misses the larger problem.

"They did not want to actually acknowledge that it was gang activity," Gates told Fox News Digital.

"They wanted to make sure that they tried to whitewash the narrative as they’re saying that these are just retaliations between individuals." Gates is the senior pastor of Greater Works Church of God in Christ.

He also serves as a Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office chaplain and describes himself as a community liaison who works with local law enforcement .

His work in those roles has heightened his concern about young people drawn to violence by money, territory or a need for belonging.

His proposal centers on Gang Free , a Los Angeles-based program intended to help students in grades four through six understand how gangs recruit children and the consequences of becoming involved.

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"I said, ‘Man, I’ve got to bring this back to Asheville, North Carolina,’" he recalled.

Over the past decade, Gates said, he has presented the proposal to mayors, city and county managers, police chiefs and sheriff’s officials, urging them to give it a one-year trial.