A study shows that murders in Houston with black suspects have jumped 139 percent since 2000.

A group of ministers from across the Houston area is calling for help in stopping an increase in 'black on black' crime. A study shows a 139 percent increase in the number of murders in Houston with black suspects since 2000.

"If it were Jewish boys being shot, if it were Jews were killing each other the way we're seeing blacks killing blacks, what would the community's response be?" asks Reverend Robert Gilmore, a member of the Houston Ministers Against Crime.

The group says elected officials who have taken office since the first of the year need to give help to communities that are suffering from an increase in crime.

"They just got sworn in, and I hope they're doing just like the president-elect by getting their teams in place," Gilmore adds. "We are ready to get this stopped and get some of these kids off the streets and in schools or jobs and move on."

The ministers say communities need more funding for outreach and mental health treatment.

"Don't think that we are pushing this off. We want to work with a commission, but we lack the money to supply a program that would stop black on black crime," says Reverend Robert Jefferson, the pastor at Cullen Missionary Baptist Church.

The group acknowledges that crime spiked after Hurricane Katrina, but the ministers say residents of Louisiana were suspected in just four murders in 2008. The preachers also say that while violence is increasing among African Americans, the number of murders involving white Houstonians is dropping.

"Remember, when people are in need, they don't just look to brutalize people who don't have money. So, this community at large is affected," Gilmore says."
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