14-year-old Monica Holley was shot and killed Wednesday and three other teenagers were hurt in the same shooting incident near the intersection of Hazelwood and Maryland Avenue.

In a separate incident Saturday, St. Paul Police said a 17-year-old was also injured by gunfire.

The chair of the Ramsey County Board of Commissioners, Trista Martinson, told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS she was “absolutely heartbroken and devastated” by the shooting of five young people all between the ages of 14 and 19 over the past four days.

Martinson said the county was moving forward with plans to open Mental Health Respite Centers for juveniles traumatized by violent crime with the hopes of having those centers start to open up either later this year or early in 2024.

“We’ve got our healing streets teams involved to make sure there’s not retaliation that happens,” said Martinson. “They’re working with youth and families that are impacted because, you know, grief on process often turns to anger and people want to take it into their own hands and we can’t have that.”

Ramsey County also received $15 million from the state earlier this year to open up as many as seven youth treatment homes where habitual, violent juvenile offenders would reside in a secure facility but receive intensive, individualized treatment along with education and job training.

Martinson said both programs will be essential in turning around an increase in violent crimes committed by juveniles over the past several years.

“So, those will be kids who’ve already been arrested and been charged and convicted and then they will come to an intensive treatment home in order to help rehabilitate and stop the recurrence of violence that we see in our community,” said Martinson.