COLUMBUS, Ohio — Residents of Wedgewood Village Apartments are fed up with the amount of violence that happens in the community.
On Tuesday, Columbus police were notified of a shooting on the ShotSpotter gunfire detection system. Police said a man and a woman were both shot and are expected to be OK.
At the same time, members of the group Wedgewood Unity were in the community, working to prompt safety in hopes to end violence in the area.
"I've been walking up and down the street, in the middle of the street trying to make a change trying to make a difference,” said Christina McDaniel, a member of the group.
McDaniel said every day, members met to walk students of Eakin Elementary School to and from the building.
She said the group is working to change the narrative of the neighborhood.
"Everybody keeps talking about we need change in the community, they want to stop the violence, they want to stop the shootings. How can we stop the shooting if nobody is stepping out?” she said.
She said many Columbus City School students attend the school. The group wants to keep them engaged.
“We don't want the violence on the street no more...we're tired,” said McDaniel.
Safety is something the district is focused on. The new superintendent of CCS Dr. Angela Chapman said they’re looking to add more security staff in all the schools.
"I am as concerned as all of you are about the safety of our students whether they're in our communities or in our schools,” said Dr. Chapman.
The district previously added metal detectors to schools.
John Coneglio, president of the Columbus Education Association, said he’s spoken with a number of educators throughout the district. He said they would like to see safety assessments done for every school to see what each building needs regarding safety.
“Hopefully to start getting these things in these buildings that they need maybe it's more walkie talkie’s, maybe it's a working pa system,” said Coneglio.
McDaniel is determined to change the narrative of Wedgewood and show that there’s good coming from every doorstep.