North Carolina mountain town ‘whitewashing’ violence amid crime concerns, says pastor with former gang ties

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. ©2026 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Market data provided by Factset. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Legal Statement. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by LSEG. Dr. Ronald Gates says city leaders should have acted years ago to steer young people away from retaliation, crime and gangs. An Asheville pastor who says he had gang ties as a young man told Fox News Digital that city leaders ignored his decade-long push for a youth gang-prevention program before recent violence rattled the North Carolina tourist city. Dr. Ronald Gates first brought the proposal to Asheville officials in 2016, urging them to invest in early intervention for children he believes could otherwise be pulled into dangerous groups and retaliatory violence. The issue has taken on new urgency after a string of retaliatory shootings left two people dead and seven others wounded. City officials have stopped short of calling the violence gang-related, instead describing it as retaliation between groups of friends. MOUNTAIN GETAWAY ROCKED BY ‘LA