There have been at least five shootings involving teens since Thursday. Four teens have been killed.
"Early intervention services like mental health," Houston Mayor John Whitmire said. "You pay now, or you pay later, and you may pay with your life later."
Harris County District Court leaders say that juvenile murder and capital murder filings have increased by 261% since 2019.
"The age of violent offenders is trending downward, and that's a concern," District Attorney Sean Teare said.
There are still questions, Teare said, about the cause of the rise in teenage crime.
What is working and what isn't?
"We've got to figure out whether or not these types of cases are the result of bad diversion programs or bad convictions," he said.
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