COLUMBUS, Ohio (WSYX) — As summer approaches, Columbus officials and community leaders are joining forces to address a troubling trend: the rise in homicides during the warmer months.
Columbus Division of Police (CPD) officials noted that once school is out in May, homicide rates tend to increase, making it crucial to curb the violence before it starts.
Shaun Dillon, Homicide Commander at CPD, said, “We know as the summer comes, the hotter months tend to have more violence.”
Data from 2024 shows that homicides in Columbus nearly doubled from 26 between January and April to 51 from May through August. This trend has prompted community leaders to take action.
Malissa Thomas St. Clair, founder of Mothers of Murdered Columbus Children, emphasized the importance of using victims’ stories to drive change.
“We don’t want the victims to die in vain, none of our children should die in vain, so now we use those stories, tell those stories, find out… it’s not just the data, it’s not just the numbers, what’s inside those numbers, then we have to use that information to tell stories to drive our work,” she said.
Thomas St. Clair is mobilizing community groups, CPD, the mayor’s office, and faith leaders to end the violence. “I hope that this shows when you collaborate from global levels on the community level, I think miracles are going to happen,” she said.
Lead Pastor Michael Young from City of Grace Church highlighted the importance of supporting youth. “As a community, we need to love on and wrap our arms around the kids in our community. The reality is they’re facing challenges on a daily basis,” he said.
Young, who has served as pastor since 2014, believes the issue is rooted in poverty and calls for a comprehensive approach to youth violence, including summer youth programs and educational initiatives.
This summer, the mayor’s office is investing more than $28 million in youth programs to help prevent violence. However, Thomas St. Clair stressed that money is just one part of the solution. “We need to focus on finding the root cause, so I think first you identify the problem, which is doing data analysis like this collaboratively, finding out which organization can support certain data points with fidelity, and I think that’s what the solution is, that’s what the goal is after today,” she said.
