A group of Bridgeport residents are calling on police to control the flow of illegal handguns into their community after 13 people were shot over the weekend in their neighborhood

The mass shooting took place on Plymouth Street early Sunday morning. Police say it all began when at least two gunmen fired through hedges into a crowd of partygoers.

Some residents say that young people face peer pressure to buy and carry illegal handguns. They say the best way to fight the problem is to put pressure on police and lawmakers to help make illegal handguns more difficult to get.

Sheriff Steve Nelson is a retired law enforcement officer who says when it comes to gun violence, many residents are asking the same question.

"It doesn't happen in Fairfield, it doesn't happen in Trumbull. Why is it happening in Bridgeport?" he asks.

Nelson says too many young people think of guns as status symbols they must have, and the answer is to somehow stop the free flow of those weapons into the community.

Bridgeport Police Chief AJ Perez says since he became the city's top law enforcement officer, his department "has taken hundreds of illegal firearms off the street and helped bring about a dramatic reduction in violent crime".

Perez says he will be happy to meet with Nelson and local residents to talk about their ideas for making the community safer.