Norwich ― Representatives from religious faith groups pledged Monday to take the lead in trying to reduce gun violence in the wake of the fatal shooting last week of a 19-year-old man at the Norwich Apartments complex.

Members of the Norwich Area Interfaith Association held an hour-long online meeting Monday with Jeremy Stein, executive director of Connecticut Against Gun Violence, to hear ideas on ways to reduce gun violence. The interfaith association plans to organize community sessions with the public, police and political leaders and CAGV leaders.

The effort started in response to the death last Wednesday of Camaury Jabezz Norman-Clack, 19, who died of a gunshot wound to the chest. Police are seeking 19-year-old Stancovitch Fabre, in connection with the shooting.

The interfaith association hosted a vigil Saturday in Greeneville. Member and Alderman Swaranjit Singh Khalsa said the group wants to do more to help the community address gun violence. Association President, Rabbi Julius Rabinowitz said the group is ready to take the lead, even if it can be a daunting task that will take years to address.

“It is a really complicated problem, and it requires a very comprehensive holistic solution,” Stein said. “There’s not one thing you can do. There are many different things you could be doing that could have an effect on reducing gun violence.”

Local communities need to understand what different kinds of gun violence are prevalent and identify “the ecosystem of gun violence.”

Stein said his group has focused on safe storage of guns to address a host of issues, including suicide risk, which he said is most prevalent with guns found in the home, gun theft, accidental death and domestic violence. He called advocating safe storage, “low-hanging fruit.”

Connecticut Against Gun Violence has given away hundreds of gun safes ― he held up a $100 model about the size of a small suitcase during the online meeting ― per year. The safes can be bolted down and have combination locks or fingerprint scan devices that can unlock within seconds.

While not ideal, Stein said guns can be stored loaded in the safe and positioned with the handle easily reached.

“That would be much safer than keeping it loaded in their nightstand, or even unloaded in their nightstand with the magazine right next to it,” Stein said.

He said popular gun buyback programs can be less effective, because they typically collect old guns in storage in homes or guns that responsible gun owners no longer want.

CAGV also advocates for more funding for communities for gun violence prevention. The state currently includes $2.5 million per year in the state Department of Public Health budget but Stein said the funding mostly goes to groups in large cities. The proposed new state budget would increase funding to $6 million per year for two years.

The group also wants Connecticut to create an Office of Violence Prevention to track gun violence statistics and what prevention efforts are successful. He said Norwich could create a local commission on violence prevention.

The Norwich interfaith association will organize in-person meetings with CAGV. There will be one meeting for the public, with no media to allow people to speak freely, and separate meetings for city leaders and local police.

“We’re really anxious to take the lead on this and to move ahead on this,” Rabinowitz said. “Whatever help we can get, we’re grateful.”

c.bessette@theday.com