COLUMBUS, Ohio — The last weekend of June was a quiet one in the Short North, a welcomed occurrence for the people living and working in the neighborhood.
New safety measures took effect following the previous weekend’s mass shooting that sent 10 people to the hospital. Measures included more uniformed and plain-clothes officers, more mobile security cameras and a city-wide curfew for 13-18 year olds. Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther has said these measures will remain until further notice.
The extra steps didn’t go unnoticed by some people living in the neighborhood.
“It was quieter than the past couple of weekends, so hopefully it’s progress,” said Lily Sweeney. “I see a lot more Short North security guys walking just around where I work, so I feel safer than I have in the past.”
Sweeney lives and works in the Short North. She said the increased security efforts are appreciated.
“I say just amp up the security more and more. More security guards. Especially on the weekends. More police cars just monitoring the area,” she said.
Eddie Parker, the senior pastor of “The Word Church” of God in Christ, was one of a group of faith leaders who took the initiative to walk the Short North between midnight and bar close. They hoped their presence and engagement with people would help deter crime.
“The biggest thing is what we didn’t see. Any shootings. Any gun violence. Not even any unruly behaviors,” he said. “It was good to see what we didn’t see.”
He said their presence was well-received by people coming and going from the bars in the Short North.
“When we didn’t try to convince them to come to church, stop and try to pray for them or anything, just letting them know that we care about them as an individual,” Parker said.
He said he doesn’t plan for this past weekend to be a one-time occurrence, but it will take the help of the community to make it happen.
“An event is a one-time thing. What we want to do is make this organic. We can’t be on this block every weekend. You know who can? The business owners in this area and the community who live here,” Parker said. “If everyone takes their community back, block by block, community by community, we will take our city back. Columbus is too strong to be weakened by the violence of a few.”
The city’s mobile security cameras dot the sidewalks of the Short North. Several are placed within a block of each other.
10TV reached out to the Columbus Division of Police to learn just how many extra officers were assigned to the Short North as part of the increased security but has not yet received a response.