BATON ROUGE - Baton Rouge's recent surge in violence has resulted in the deaths of two teenagers, including one who was shot after getting off his school bus. These killings, along with the shooting death of a 39-year-old woman, have prompted police to seek answers. 

BRPD believes the killing of 17-year-old Anthony Robinson was targeted by the 16-year-old suspect. 

"The 16-year-old shooter was waiting for the 17-year-old victim to get off the bus. When he did, along with another friend, the 16-year-old approached the two and chased the 17-year-old down," said Lt. L'Jean McKneely, public information officer for BRPD.

The department suspects this incident is related to something that occurred days prior. 

"There was some type of prior altercation that occurred before the shooting incident," McKneely stated. 

Two victims under the age of 18 have died in under a week. The first incident involved 14-year-old Derrick Dorsey, who was shot inside his apartment on Cadillac Street. Police say they are looking to put an end to this trend affecting both teenage victims and suspects. 

"The family of the 17-year-old victim suffers, and the family of the 16-year-old suspect suffers. We are talking about juveniles," he explained. 

"We have been dealing with this for the last couple of years, and we are trying to reach out to our youth to understand what's going on and to change their behavior. We have had recent shootings involving juveniles, making this an ongoing trend where both victims and suspects are becoming younger," he added.

Councilman Anthony Kenny, an alumnus of Scotlandville, described the situation as heartbreaking. 

"This sends a very negative signal that these kids must be scared coming home. I want to ensure families in this community come together to address these issues and find solutions," Kenny stated. 

"We need to encourage our young people to hold each other accountable. If they see something or hear something, we must ensure that as a close-knit community, we take responsibility for our actions," he added.

As of last Thursday, Baton Rouge had reported 13 homicides, but the latest killings have raised the total to 16. Last year at this time, Baton Rouge police recorded a total of 23 homicides.