COLUMBUS, Ohio — 10TV obtained 911 calls providing new details about the seconds after someone opened fire near a community cooling center.
Police said the gunfire killed 24-year-old A'Tayia Nichols and hurt two other people.
On Friday, Hilltop community leaders gathered in that neighborhood to demand immediate action.
"I'm tired. I'm sick of going to these funerals and sitting with these moms," said Zerqa Abid founder of MY Project USA.
Abid is part of a Hilltop Youth Social Justice Collaborative calling for an end to violence. To help their mission, they're asking to talk directly to Mayor Andrew Ginther by the end of the day on Monday.
They want to turn the old Wedgewood school into a youth center. They also want Franklin County Commissioners to release community action partnership grant money.
They said all of those things help give resources to the hilltop's youth.
"Our children are killing each other. Our children are suffering. Our children are also becoming champions when they are given the guidance. Our children are also becoming very successful when we have the programming and space for them," said Abid.
In a statement to 10TV, a spokesperson for Mayor Ginther said the following:
“Mayor Ginther and his staff have met many times with Zerqa Abid and other community partners on the West Side. To date, the city has invested more than $700,000 in My Project USA, a nonprofit headed up by Ms. Abid. An additional $250,000 in ARPA funds will be released pending submission of the required documentation. The city does not control the former Wedgewood school.
Please note the city has invested heavily in the Hilltop in youth programming at the West Side’s community centers, as well as through Recreation and Parks’ Center Without Walls that provides camp programming in the Wedgewood community. Federal dollars were used in empowerment grants, managed on the Hilltop through Shalom Zone last summer and this year through another neighborhood partner. In terms of violence mitigation, the Hilltop was one of the first neighborhoods to be chosen for Safe Streets bike patrol and Shot Spotter gun detection.”
Abid said she will go on a hunger strike starting Tuesday if she doesn't hear back from the mayor by Monday night.