Columbia youth weigh in on recent violence in the city
Nia Hinson
EDITOR’S NOTE: The number of juveniles arrested Tuesday has been corrected.
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Children routinely gather at the Peace and Hope Center for Youth on Providence Road in Columbia, and Tuesday was no different.
The nonprofit organization works with at-risk youth in the community.
While there, they participate in activities such as going to the park, playing kickball and doing crafts. During the school year, the center also offers an after-school program. There’s laughter while they play video games and make bracelets, but they’re sometimes reminded by the things that occur outside of those walls.
An 18-year-old was killed in a shooting Sunday night at a Columbia apartment complex. Police said Tuesday that the weekend robbery of a business on Scott Boulevard and the shooting on East Broadway are linked.
Glasgow police also confirmed Tuesday that three suspects, two of whom are juveniles, were taken into custody on Tuesday after a manhunt. A fourth juvenile was taken into custody earlier in the week on suspicion of second-degree murder, first-degree robbery, armed criminal action and unlawful use of a weapon.
“It makes me feel scared because it can happen to any of us,” Laila Lallemand, who participates in the program, said.
Lallemand started going to the program last year, after she says she needed to find a new after-school program. She is one of many youths at the center who hope others in the community will choose a different path.
“Kids are getting hurt,” Dayah Mitchell, another enrollee, said. “And when they get hurt, they probably will like pass and it’s not right because the family is going to be hurt and they’re going to think about it like why did they do that.”
Columbia Deputy Chief Matt Stephens told ABC 17 News Monday night that he believes juveniles have been “running reckless” recently. Stephens said it’s hard to know exactly how children are able to get their hands on guns.
“You know, when you have people that leave guns in cars and then cars get broken into, that’s one thing,” Stephens said. “When you have you know, a bunch of people that are just passing them back and forth you know through different means, there’s a bunch of different ways that people get hands on guns and they shouldn’t have them.”
A’niya Jackson is also enrolled at the program, something she said has helped her stay out of trouble. She attributed much of that growth to Lonnie Lockhart Bey and Julian Jackman, who help run the program, saying they showed her how a better path to take.
“It’s simply a testament to the work, right?” Lockhart Bey said. “It’s a testament to us fighting to rediscover and rebuilding.”
Others like Everleigh Thornton hope children who tend to turn toward violence would reach out for help.
“You can’t change the past, but you can definitely make your future better,” Thornton said. “For all these choices that you’re making and all these bad things that you’re doing, they’re bad…but you can, if you always think about what you’re gonna do, you can change the kind of person you’re gonna be.”