CITY OF NEWBURGH - The mother of a recent Newburgh Free Academy graduate shot and killed in late August has joined the push for the city to get a system of audio sensors that would listen for gunshots and tell police precisely where they're occurring.

Jennifer Bediako, mother of Keyshan Gayle, joined Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney and city officials Monday at Maloney's Grand Street office to call for the "ShotSpotter" technology to be implemented in the city.

Gayle, 18, was shot around 11:15 p.m. on Aug. 30 outside a grocery store on the corner of Fullerton and Third streets, less than three months after graduating from NFA. The area is poorly lit, and a nearby surveillance camera was not working, according to a friend of the family.

"We're trying to do everything we know how to stop the next incident like this before it occurs," Maloney said.

Newburgh’s police department is pursuing a $432,600 U.S. Department of Justice grant to fund a system of audio sensors that would, within a minute, alert officers when gunshots have been fired and give them a precise location of where it happened. The aim is to reduce police response times, serve as evidence in cases and discover shootings that go unreported by the public.

When a shot is fired, the sound is routed to ShotSpotter employees, who analyze the sound and then send the information off to police right away, Newburgh Police Chief Dan Cameron said. Police hope to set up 60 sensors on buildings throughout the the city, which can pinpoint gunshots to within a couple of meters.

Maloney said he's pushing for the grant as the city sees an uptick in gun violence in 2016 compared to the same time frame in 2015. Citing information from city police, Maloney said gun-related incidents are up 31 percent and confirmed cases of shots being fired are up 85 percent.

Cameron said if the city wins the grant it would help pay for the first 18 months of leasing the technology.

Maloney said officials hope to hear if the city has received the grant by the end of the September. City officials hope to have it installed by October. City Manager Michael Ciaravino says the city Common Council has also approved repurposing part of a $564,300 pot of money, originally meant for a long-planned skateboard park, to repair or buy surveillance cameras.

Bediako said she hopes the improvements can can prevent another needless death.

"Now, my son it's too late for him, but through his death and our uniting as a community this can be greater than anybody ever imagined," Bediako said. "It's not about me and my family, it's about saving you and your children now."

jnani@th-record.com