The question haunting the minds of many Mirror readers last weekend was “What is happening to our city?”

Last weekend’s Page 1 article “Police: ‘Gang war’ led to shooting” opened many eyes to a situation that many believed previously could never erupt in this city that otherwise has so much good working on its behalf.

In the past, the words “gang war” and “Altoona” never seemed to have anything in common but now they do, and this entire community has serious cause for concern.

Thus, the following question must not be ignored: Is the Altoona region adequately prepared to confront the problem with a full, uninterruptible mindset to defeat it, or is time needed to determine how to respond and what resources need to be utilized?

Additionally, if mobilization time is needed, how long will it take to map out a response with some prospects for success?

Meanwhile, the city area must not couch itself in any foolish notion that the problem will go away by itself. The existence of suspected gang identifiers, one being “GDK,” which allegedly stands for “Gangster Disciple Killers,” already indicates a horrific scenario too deeply entrenched.

The best minds from the city’s various positive entities need to meet to brainstorm and cement the plan of how to proceed — sternly but compassionately.

However, special effort must be directed at making clear what is at stake for those who succumb to the temptation and purported thrill of joining and participating in criminally motivated gang or other illegal activities.

Many young people, captivated by the power that participation seems to deliver, fail to reflect on the proverbial big picture that otherwise surrounds — and could destroy — each of their lives.

Now is the time for that to change, not only for their own good but also for the community in which they live.

Just like a dishonorable discharge from the military greatly hinders accomplishment for those individuals carrying that albatross for the rest of their lives, so too does a criminal record, no matter if that record resulted from immaturity, peer pressures or other challenging circumstances.

Most companies prefer hiring hard-working, honest and dependable candidates, not individuals whom they feel are not fully trustworthy and not worthy of being accorded important responsibilities accompanied by a higher level of pay those positions justify.

Then there is the prison factor — the albatross of having served time behind bars or in a juvenile detention environment. And, there is more to the prison factor than serving one’s sentence; it is what could happen during the first day of incarceration.

There are hardened criminals just waiting for the opportunity to prey on a new prison “resident,” and that includes by violent or threatening conduct or sexual molestation.

Therefore, it can be said that serving a prison sentence is an exercise in self-preservation as well as paying one’s debt to society. Many “tough guys” outside of prison walls learn quickly how weak they are when they come face to face with life “on the inside.”

That said, a reasonable suggestion might be for school districts’ ninth or 10th graders to participate in a state-subsidized mandatory “field trip” to a prison to learn what life is about behind bars.

This city’s best minds have a lot to think about and talk about to address this gang problem — and, the sooner the better.