ORLANDO, Fla. — The Spectrum News 13 watchdog team is taking a close look at rising gun crimes involving teens in the state of Florida.

While state reports show a 20% decrease in gun crimes among youth from 2016 to 2020, there has been a slight uptick in crimes over the last couple of years. Law enforcement officers say “easy access” to guns in Central Florida is a growing concern.

It is something that is happening more frequently here Central Florida: Family members grieving the deaths of children and in the same breath, calling for justice and action.

“We want families to know they need to teach their kids gun control," said John Keedy, the stepfather of Corey Jones, a 15-year-old who was shot to death on Jan. 22. "It’s not the gun that kills the person, it’s the person that kills the person,” 

It’s not just teen deaths that is a concern, it is teens committing crimes. Take the killing of 78-year-old Uken Cummings — a teenager is one of the two people charged with committing the crime.

“That’s the viciousness about it that they could even do that to an elderly man like that, so it really hurts, it really hurts,” said a family member of Cummings who asked not to be identified.

While stats from the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice state database show an overall decline in juvenile firearm crimes since 2016, there has been a slight bump in the last couple of years.

Danielle Viellette with Moms Demand Action Central Florida is hoping to see those numbers go back down. She got involved with Moms Demand Action after the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

“That’s when I was like, I have to do something — like, if I’m afraid to send my kid to school, at least if I’m doing something," she said. "I can feel better."

Viellette says education is key with youth, as is teaching gun owners about responsible ownership.

“People who have them should be responsible, they should lock them up, and they should pass a background check,” she said.

But not everyone is required to do a background check when selling or transferring a gun that coming from FDLE. This is specifically the case when private citizens are selling guns. A growing concern among law enforcement officers is online gun sales to teens where there is currently no state or federal oversight.

“We saw recently in Daytona Beach a kid can go online — could be 15, 16, 17 years old — and buy a gun online, its out of the purview of law enforcement or regulations whatsoever," Viellette said. "If somebody wants to sell their firearm, they go to the Facebook marketplace or the dark web and you can buy it online.”

Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood said juveniles need special attention and he and his team have been working to combat recent crimes. Already this year, Volusia County has seen 26 gun charges involving juveniles. Chitwood said a big number of juveniles get their hands on guns by stealing them from cars.

He said it doesn't matter if they're young, though, teens who commit serious crimes should do the time.

“You’ve got kids out there committing crimes of violence and they need to be dealt with," Chitwood said. "If you want to commit a big-boy crime, then you need to be treated like a big boy."

Still, Chitwood said his office is trying to reach teens before they commit these crimes by giving them the support they need. Just this week, the Volusia County Council voted to approve funding for an updated juvenile assessment center in Daytona Beach.

“The goal with this is that we can stop kids as they start down this path, get them the help that they need, and the resources that they need to help them to overcome where they are headed,” he said.

Viellette, along with her Mom’s Demand Action team, is hoping to make the same strides as Chitwood to reduce gun crimes through education, one step at a time.

“I don’t want to take anyone’s gun away," she said. "We are not trying to go by everyone’s home and take their weapons — I just want you to lock it up, I just want you to be safe."

Spectrum News 13 also spoke with Orange County Sheriff John Mina, who said while juvenile crimes have gone down over the last couple of years, his deputes are still working to combat gun violence in Central Florida.

He is asking for help from the public to help them cut off youth access to guns by encouraging those who have them to lock them up.

“I think as far as access to guns, regarding juveniles, they are getting their guns from people who are leaving their guns unsecured in vehicles," said Mina, who added that it would be great "if we can get people to continue to lock their vehicles up we can keep guns out of the hands of these juveniles who want to use them to commit crimes."

Mina said in the last two years more than 700 guns were stolen from cars in Orange County.