PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Philadelphia’s mayor says gun violence in America’s cities should be treated just like international terrorism.
Democratic Mayor Michael Nutter says that was the message he delivered Monday to Attorney General Loretta Lynch during a meeting in Washington.
Nutter says there’s “really no level of distinction” between the daily violence on America’s streets and the “episodic acts of international terrorism that take place primarily in cities.”
Mayors from Washington, Baltimore, New Orleans and Gary, Indiana, also attended the meeting, which was scheduled before the recent attacks in Paris.
Nutter says gun violence, like terrorism, makes people feel unsafe in their communities.
Philadelphia has had more than 240 homicides this year. Baltimore has hit the 300 mark for the first time since 1999.
Coordinated attacks in Paris on Friday killed at least 129 people.