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17 juvenile crimes committed since January 1st

The Bibb County Sheriff's Office says the average age of juveniles committing crimes is 14 years old.

A 19-year old remains in the Bibb County jail after allegedly shooting a 15-year old.

The Bibb County Sheriff's Office says it happened Sunday night off Houston Road. Maribel Medina noticed what she called a "suspicious looking" customer in her store, La Mexicana Food Mart, prior to the shooting.

"I thought there was something funny about it because he was in there for like 10 minutes," says Medina.

She says he bought some snacks and took them out to the parking lot, then he was shot.

"He got shot and came into my business asking for help to call 911," says Medina.

The Bibb County Sheriff's Office says that customer was a 15-year-old boy. They say he was shot by 19-year old Jeffrey Austin Burnette, who left in a car with two other people.

The Bibb County Sheriff's Office says this is one of 17 crimes blamed on juveniles since January 1st.

And the average age of the offenders? Just 14 years old.

Gwen Westbrooks is the President of the local NAACP Chapter. She says she's noticed an increase in youth violence in recent years.

"Please, please stop the killing, stop the violence," says Westbrooks. "We have to change their mindset, because if we don't, then somebody is going to change it for them."

Last month, she held her first "youth community meeting" to discuss violence with Bibb County teens and listen to their concerns.

"A lot of times these young people are committing these crimes and they really don't know what the consequences are behind these violent acts that they're committing," says Westbrooks.

She hopes that more education and community engagement will help reduce the number of juvenile crimes.

According to the Bibb County Sheriff's Office, in 2017 juveniles accounted for 32 percent of gun-related arrests and 23 percent of burglary arrests.

If you have information on the shooting that happened on Houston Road, you can call the Bibb County Sheriff's Office at 478-751-7500.

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