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On Saturday morning, less than a mile from the site of Prince George's County's 16th homicide this year in Suitland hours earlier, county officials, community leaders, police and residents met to discuss how to end the cycle of violence in Prince George's.

About 30 people attended the event, which was held at New Creation in Christ Ministries in Suitland and included a prayer vigil and question-and-answer session.

Resident Courtney Stewart of Clinton said he was troubled by seeing numerous empty seats, and said disinterest is one of the reasons crime continues to plague the county.

"This is the reality. This is all been done before. It's the same soup, warmed over twice," Stewart said. "No one is committed to this."

While the participants at the latest Stop the Violence rally spent two hours listing possible reasons crime continues to consume young men of the county — no jobs, poor education, lack of father figures and community apathy — the solutions remained elusive.

"We have to connect the dots," said Councilman Mel Franklin (D-Dist. 9) of Upper Marlboro. "We have a lot of ideas and services, but no one has connected the dots. And if we don't do something, we'll be sitting right back here again."

The event, sponsored by the Alliance of Concerned Men — a nonprofit Washington, D.C., organization dedicated to helping young men move away from criminal life — had been planned prior to the early Saturday morning fatal shooting of a 24-year-old District man outside a Suitland nightclub.

The killing marked the county's 16th homicide this year, several of which police say have been tied to robberies and disputes within the drug trade. Police have not released a possible motive in the Saturday morning homicide.

In response, police have intensified patrols and reached out to federal agencies for help. But forum participants said the true causes go further back.

"A lot of it is family structure," Franklin said. "We don't want to talk about the rapid decline of fathers, but it's destroying our county."

Temple Hills resident Tracy Ellis, whose son Michael D'Angelo Layne, 19, died during a Temple Hills robbery Jan. 4, said schools also have failed many children.

Although her son grew up without a father, Ellis said county school teachers failed to notify her that her son was absent from school in his late high school career. When she was told at the start of his senior year that he was not likely to graduate, Ellis said she pulled him out and home-schooled her son.

"If you can't do what my tax dollars pay to do, I'll do it myself," Ellis told the group. "Our teachers have to be educated not to give up on a child. A lot happens at home, yes, but the school is where they spend half of their time."

Law enforcement officers at the meeting repeated their calls for residents to take a more active role in their communities to stamp out crime by contacting police and speaking against illegal behavior.

"As a community, we have to say, ‘You can't bring this kind of activity to our community. Take it somewhere else,'" said Sheriff Melvin C. High.

Alliance director Tyrone Parker called on participants and the community to renew their efforts.

"We have to identify, mentor, monitor and educate," Parker said. "It's not difficult — if we all make it a priority."

dvalentine@gazette.net