MILWAUKEE – Communities are stepping up the fight against gang violence. A gang war is blamed for the south side shooting that left two police officers wounded last week. While residents in some Milwaukee neighborhoods live in fear because of gang violence, hundreds of people are brainstorming ways of stemming the violent tide. Four hundred fifty people attended the conference at the Marquette Student Union Tuesday. TODAY’S TMJ4 had a chance to speak with the young people those leaders are trying to reach. High school seniors Maria Pacheco and Francisco Solano are from one of Milwaukee’s toughest south side neighborhoods. “Every weekend you hear the gunshots going, cars getting broken into,” Francisco Solano said. These friends live within blocks of last week’s gang-related shooting that wounded two police officers. The accused gunman is just 15 years old. Maria says she started running with a gang when she was only 12. “Everybody in the room started doing something, drugs or gang activity or selling drugs or whatever. The point is, they were missing something in their heart and that was love from their family,” Maria Pacheco said. Tuesday, Maria and Francisco took questions at the gang violence forum. Francisco says he never joined a gang, but he’s felt the pressure. “They use you pretty much to do their work, to promote their gang, to sell drugs and get girls for guys,” Francisco Solano said. Maria credits outreach activities, her faith and her mom for getting her back on the right track. “Not only because of communicating with my mom and not only because I tried to stop it, being what I was, but also God in the picture,” Maria Pacheco said. Both of the high school seniors from Milwaukee’s south side plan to graduate high school on time and they both have intentions to go to college. Church leaders, politicians, school officials, police officers, prosecutors and judges took part in the forum, along with residents of Milwaukee's high-crime neighborhoods. People in the south side neighborhood near 14th and Greenfield told TODAY'S TMJ4 that gangs rule their streets. "We've been working very hard in that area with an eye on getting rid of the gang members," Brian O'Keefe, deputy chief of Milwaukee police, told reporters after the south side shooting. "The Latin Kings have been a problem for us. We've had a very focused effort on them." The keynote address was delivered by New York Judge Alex Calabrese. Calabrese presides over an innovative court that's created a closer link between the justice system and the community. Wisconsin Supreme Court Chief Justice Shirley S. Abrahamson, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, Milwaukee District Attorney John Chisholm and Marquette Law School Dean Josheph Kearney also spoke. "We're going to be extremely proactive in this neighborhood," Barrett said after last week's gang-linked police shooting. "We're sending the message to the Latin Kings and anyone else that's involved: 'We're coming after you.' We are coming after you because we're not going to let this happen in this city."