In the shadow of child violence, Columbus police, organization meet to build bonds

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- The Mothers of Murdered Columbus Children (MOMMC) and the Columbus Division of Police gathered for their quarterly meeting Wednesday, a chance for both organizations to build relationships and promote overall community safety.

Building those relationships is something police said is essential for the department, and the event with MOMCC was a chance to do that, one day after four children are recovering after two separate shootings.

In the last four days, there have been three shootings across the city, all involving juveniles. 

Tuesday night, two juveniles were shot, and a 12-year-old was charged with assault and obstruction in connection to that incident.

Residents of that neighborhood said it needs to stop.

“I think these kids better stop playing,” said resident Muhammad Hussein. “It’s not GTA, bro. Stop stealing cars, stop playing with guns. It is not cool, bro.”

Wednesday’s quarterly meeting between MOMCC and Columbus police came at an important time with the recent string of shootings.

“I need them to understand that there is a time limit on life and they need to stop speeding that time limit up,” MOMCC founder Malissa Thomas-St. Clair said. “We wear these orange shirts. If you see an orange shirt, it means we are a mother of a murdered child. I do not want their mother wearing an orange shirt.”

And neither does Columbus Division of Police Assistant Chief Greg Bodker. He said these types of partnerships are essential.

“Safety in a city the size of Columbus is not just the responsibility of the police,” he said. “It’s the responsibility of the entire community and this helps strengthen that mission.”

And in regard to the violence involving children, community leaders said it’s happened too many times. 

“A child with a gun in their hand, for whatever reason, harming another child,” Thomas-St. Clair said. “Last night, harming two children, and that is unacceptable. We, as a community, need to hold those children responsible, but the parents that put the children in that position or leave a firearm unattended and allow that to happen, we need to hold them accountable as well.”

Neither of Tuesday’s shootings was fatal. However, police are using the incidents to remind people to safely store their firearms and keep them away from children.