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WORCESTER - Following a two-week spate of shootings in the city, one city councilor is seeking "emergency funding" for the police department to help deal with the issue, while the Mayor highlighted ongoing efforts to address the violence.

City Councilor Michael Gaffney has filed an agenda item seeking a report from the city manager or the chief of police on "the plan to combat this increasing public safety issue" after a rise in shootings over the last two weeks.

As part of this agenda item, Gaffney is also requesting that emergency funds be made available to help the city fight the violence.

"Such funds to be used as deemed necessary by law enforcement and to include the authorization of additional resources or personnel required to fulfill the mission to restore public safety," Gaffney wrote in his agenda item.

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Related: See an interactive map of Worcester's recent shootings.

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Mayor Joseph Petty also released a statement Thursday afternoon addressing the shootings and noting work being done as part of the Worcester Youth Violence Prevention Initiative.

"We are gravely concerned by the recent shootings occurring in our city and, in particular, those involving our young people," Petty said in a statement. "Worcester does not have a single life to spare."

The youth violence prevention initiative is seeking data-driven solutions and violence prevention models, Petty's statement noted.

"This long-term work is ongoing, with the understanding that these issues will not be fixed overnight," Petty said.

He also noted the Worcester Police Department once again received summer impact funding as part of the city's budget this year. That funding puts an increased number of officers on the streets.

"These officers are being deployed to targeted areas to contain the immediate issues we have seen over the past few weeks," Petty said.

Gaffney's agenda item will be added to the July 21 City Council meeting, which is the next time the council is meeting.