COLUMBUS, Ohio — An anti-violence group is working hard to put an end to gun violence in Columbus after six shootings over the weekend.
As the weather gets warmer, the Columbus Division of Police said crime also goes up.
In central Ohio, we had at least six shootings in Columbus including one homicide and a 3-year-old who was shot on the city's northside.
"It's just, it's insane. It's not normal and it's not okay,” said Karla Harris, one of the co-founders of Mothers of Murdered Columbus Children.
“We had this gap where we weren't waking up every day, just weeks ago that we were not waking up every day to a murder,” Harris said. But as soon as it started getting warmer, she saw the violence increase yet again.
"Every time a child is involved. I just, I just can't fathom or wrap my hand around,” Harris said.
A 3-year-old child is now in the hospital after a shooting Saturday morning in North Columbus. According to Columbus Police, officers found more than 15 shots had been fired into the back of a home, one of them striking the child, who is expected to survive.
Overall, the city of Columbus has seen 310 felonious assaults this year, whereas that number was lower last year. Columbus reported 434 assaults by April 2021, but in 2020, the city had 240 felonious assaults.
Harris says the problem is accessibility.
"It is too accessible for everyone to carry guns, to carry weapons to injure a three-year-old, for random bullets to be flying through households and across paths why people are walking is just insane,” Harris said.
In Canal Winchester, police say a 17-year-old girl suffered multiple gunshot wounds after a shooting inside the home of The Canal Highlands Neighborhood.
In east Columbus, one man died Sunday night and another man was injured after a shooting in the mobile home complex at Stelzer Gardens Manufactured Homes Community.
Harris said we need to fight this war on a local level.
“Get out there, push pressure, walk those streets knocking on doors and say, Hey, this event going on this week. It's a safe environment. You're welcome to come,” Harris said.
The anti-violence group is hosting another event on April 30 outside of Podunk's, where there was a deadly shooting weeks ago. That event goes from 1-3 p.m. where they will participate in a street demonstration for peace.