I think that this is a wonderful story about a local community in Cincinnati, attempting to overcome the viloence that surrounds it. People are getting tired of
the crime, drugs, and murder around them. They are starting to organize to stop these activities. They are starting to work with troubled teens to show them
other ways of living. They are working with local law enforcement to drive these evil forces out of their community.
I feel that more people should be involved in these sorts of activities. Once a community starts to come together, and show unity, people know that certain
behaviors will not be tolerated. People who perpetuate those bad behaviors may attempt to fight it for a while, but once they see more people band together
against them, they will move on. This will leave a safer community for those who remain.
Groups determined to continue mission
The young football players dropped to the ground as three gunshots were heard, and the Rev. Peterson Mingo took off running.
Mingo, a youth football coach and anti-gang and anti-violence advocate, dropped to the ground only long enough to slither under a 15-foot-high fence as the boys
on the field lay still Sunday afternoon.
Mingo then raced to 19-year-old Earnest Crear.
Crear's pulse was faint, his eye fluttering as Mingo and two nursing home workers trained in CPR tried to save the youth, who had just been hit with two bullets,
one in the head and one in the back.
The women from the nursing home, Mingo said, were there as volunteers for the youth football tournament to tend to players' sprains and scrapes.
But their efforts weren't enough for Crear's injury.
Crear died, and people nearby where the tournament was being played began to scream and cry.
The homicide, the 11th in Avondale this year and the 44th in the city, halted the football tournament that Mingo and others organized to promote peace and
unity on the inner-city streets.
But Mingo and others say they won't be bullied by violence. On Monday, he spoke with other organizers of the "Peace Bowl" about plans for next year.
"This won't be our last," he said of the game.
Another group of community activists organized Monday in response to the shooting. Crear, witnesses said, was not involved in the youth league that attracted
about 1,500 spectators throughout the day.
Police think his death was a retaliation.
Crear was seen up the hill from the ball fields with several people before the shooting. Police on Monday said they were still working on identifying three
people seen running from the scene after the shooting.
"They are just marking time," Mingo said of the youths hanging out on Knott Street and Rockdale Avenue, uphill from the ball fields. He hopes the young football
players will understand that message.
"I think it's a crying shame what's going on there," said 49-year-old Bill Wright of Avondale. "It's off the hook. They don't fistfight like they did when I was
growing up. Now they just take out a gun and they shoot."
Wright and others who are fed up with crime plan to gather tonight to speak with one voice that the shootings must stop, said Amy Krings-Barnes, a community
outreach coordinator for CeaseFire Cincinnati. The 10-month-old organization was created to protest shootings in Avondale and to offer outreach to the community.
"It's horrible and disgusting," Krings-Barnes said of Sunday's deadly shooting. "This has to stop. This has to stop now."
