Ricky Hood talks about protecting the community

MERIDIAN, Miss. (WTOK) - In light of recent shootings in Meridian, a local community leader is speaking out about the importance of community involvement, transparency and safety.

Ricky Hood from the Boys & Girls Club said he doesn’t want children to feel unsafe at any moment and is calling for extra security. He said that one of his buses was taking children home when they found themselves near gunfire. He said something needs to be done.

“These young people that are losing their lives, they have connections so there’s a deeper impact with all of this,’ Hood explained. “I have been activated and I hope to activate more people to get involved and to have a plan. We do not have a plan.”

“If we don’t think we don’t need some work, then we have a problem. I think we need some work. We need some good leadership, not just on the inside but some people from the outside that are experts,” Hood explained. “I’m not an expert, but I can add to it. My role in this is to bring some people together to have some dialogue. As we have that dialogue, then we will figure out as we go what to do because I don’t know what to do.”

Hood will also be featured on this weekend’s Frontline Responders.

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