'Army of Moms' Patrols Chicago to Stop Shootings

But they say they need more adult involvement to keep their neighborhood safe
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 29, 2015 2:49 PM CDT
'Army of Moms' Patrols Chicago to Stop Shootings
Screenshot of some of the moms on patrol from a Fox 32 clip.   (YouTube/Fox 32)

When 34-year-old Lucille Barnes was gunned down June 23 on the 7500 block of Chicago's Stewart Avenue, a group of local mothers wearing neon-pink shirts that said "Moms on Patrol" set up chairs on street corners to prevent retaliatory violence. The Mothers Against Senseless Killings volunteers organized by Tamar Manasseh worked on the premise that even those dead-set on wreaking havoc "would not shoot under the glare of a motherly eye—let alone 15 sets of maternal eyes," as DNAinfo put it. And since Barnes' shooting, there have been no shootings in the Englewood neighborhood on that block or the 7500 block of South Harvard, where the "Army of Moms" has also set up shop, DNAinfo reports.

But Manasseh says while initial reaction to her group—described on its website as a "supplemental force to the police and other law enforcement agencies"—was strong, it has since started to fade. "People's attention spans are short." She says she underestimated local teens (about two dozen have offered their help) and is disappointed by a lack of adult support. "The kids are not the problem, the guns aren't even the problem. The problem is really adult involvement." she tells Fox 32. And part of the issue is that adults with "good" kids may not want to be bothered. "But your kids are going to grow up in the world alongside those very kids that you tried to shield them from," she says. "Wouldn't it be better if you tried to save them all instead of just yours?" (More Chicago stories.)

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