STOCKTON, Calif. — John Centeno says his son, Alexander, wasn't perfect, but he always tried to see the good in people when others did not.
“He loved going to games with us. He would give you the last two bucks in his pocket,” said Centeno.
In 2013, the 21-year-old was shot and killed inside his Stockton apartment.
While hanging out with a group of friends, one of them picked up Centeno's handguns.
Centeno said the friend turned around, put the gun under his shirt, cocked it, and told one of his friends to "watch this" before pointing the gun at his son's face and shooting him.
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Aside from the emotional trauma for families, a four-month study by the non-profit National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform found that each shooting homicide in Stockton costs taxpayers $2.5 million.
An injury shooting totals $962-thousand.
“When you look at a gun shooting incident, the initial response to the scene - police respond, ambulance respond, the fire department EMT respond," said the David Muhammad, executive director for the non-profit National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform.
Muhammad says the bill soars when you add in victim hospitalization, court costs and incarceration.
“That doesn’t speak to the indirect costs that are real [like] lost productivity if the victim or perpetrator were working. There are many studies that every shooting has a direct negative effect on property values," said Muhammad.
10 cities were part of the study, and it says, if Stockton reduced gun violence by 20%, it would result in a government savings of $50 million every year.
Muhammad says Stockton was the first city in California to be selected because "the city is up and coming" and he sees it as a "city of the future."
He says the city is beginning to turn the violence around with police connecting more with the community and the city establishing an Office of Violence Prevention.
One of the programs meant to curb deadly crime is controversial anti-gun program "Advance Peace," founded in Richmond.
Now in it's second full year in Stockton, critics have called it a “Cash for Criminals” program.
But, those behind it say it’s more about mentoring and understanding.
Director Nuri Muhammad says while money is available for those who put down their guns, so far, no money has been given away.
“More times than not, they need other things like their junior college tuition paid for [or] a training class paid for. So, it’s not always about cash. But, sometimes people in transition, they need a little extra help," said Nuri Muhammad.
Former gang member Burnice Redic goes out on the streets as part of the program to speak one-on-one with those prone to gun violence.
He is known in the program as a "Neighborhood Change Associate," and says solving gun violence begins with someone who simply cares.
“Being a product of your environment is something that people say all the time, but it’s really they think that’s all they got to make bad decisions so you have to lead by example," says Redic.
The National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform says it plans on researching the costs of gun violence in other California cities including Oakland, Fresno and Sacramento.
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