On Wednesday, Oct. 21, about 75 residents turned out to call for peace and security in the lower East Side in the wake of a rash of homicides in the area. The group marched down Minnehaha Avenue from the Hamm’s Brewery to Weida Park. (Patrick Larkn/Review)
Crowd condemns spate of gun violence
In the wake of five homicides in East Side neighborhoods in the past month, community members gathered to perform a peaceful march to decry the violence, and show community solidarity.
So, gathering in the golden hours of the day on Wednesday, Oct. 14, a group of about 75 marched from the old Hamm’s Brewery buildings on Minnehaha to Weida Park, chanting calls for peace and justice.
“We just want it to stop,” said Clarissa James, the sister of 37-year-old Synika George James, who was shot in Railroad Island while attending a vigil for another murder victim who was killed last year.
Clarissa James struggled to make sense of her brother’s homicide. She believes another person at the vigil was targeted, and is frustrated at the shooter’s disregard for human life.
Clarissa attended the peace march with her sister Chelsea, who said they wanted “to show people that we do care.”
Gina Sullivan, a friend of the James sisters, said she felt the death of Synika James and the other homicide victims shows a need for better gun control.
“There’s too many kids that can get access to a gun with a phone call,” she said. With such easy access, she figures kids bring guns into conflicts where before they might have fought it out with fists rather than gunshots.
Asia Loscheider, an East Side mother who helped organize the march, seconded that notion. With prevalence of guns, she notes, “it’s not fist play no more.”
“I want these kids to stop,” she added
She called for better pay for police officers and additional resources to help families keep their kids in check, such as more after-school activities.
