LIMA — A task force of educators, clergy and concerned citizens against gun violence is coming together amid an increase of alleged gang activity and a spate of shootings in Lima, the most recent of which injured a 10-year-old girl and 21-year-old man outside a home on Cole Street one week ago.
“We have to stop this,” said Dr. Arthur Butler, pastor of Providence Missionary Baptist Church and president of Lima Area Black Ministerial Alliance. “We’ve got to do what we’ve got to do. This is our community. If we don’t stop it, if we don’t protect it, people are going to come in and just take over.”
The Lima Area Black Ministerial Alliance hosted a forum Tuesday to seek the community’s input as the task force gets started, though few attended.
The task force intends to meet with at-risk youth, city leaders and law enforcement in search of strategies to curb gun violence. Strategies proposed Tuesday included everything from gun buybacks and mental health services for grieving families to the need for more mentors and youth-oriented activities.
Still, administrators from Lima schools in attendance Tuesday described a resurgence in organized gangs who are influencing vulnerable students, many of whom are also suffering from the emotional distress of losing a loved one to or witnessing gun violence.
Earlier this year, a 9-year-old Lima schools student died of an accidental gunshot wound, Superintendent Jill Ackerman said. The 10-year-old shot on Cole Street last week is also a student in the district, she said.
“We deal with gunshots and violence every day,” Ackerman said. “A lot of our kids are lost.”
“We’re not afraid to sit down and talk to them, and we think we can get to them,” Butler said of the youth. “We think they’ll open up.” He added: “They’re still human beings, and you can reach them by showing them love.”
