FULLER PARK — After walking about four blocks from Fuller Park to the basketball court where five people were shot last week, neighbors who were marching for peace were asked to form a circle.
A mix of neighbors, community activists, police officials and Ald. Pat Dowell (3rd) then took turns talking about violence in the community, and what can be done to stop it.
"This neighborhood has been at war since I was a baby," said Jerri Miles, who lives less than a block from the shooting scene. "Take your kids. Teach them that violence isn't the answer."
Monday's "peace march" was coordinated by Dowell and 9th District Cmdr. Daniel Godsel after the Sept. 29 basketball court shooting where three were killed and two wounded.
Dowell said the mass shooting was the tipping point after a violent summer, and that she and local police officials felt the need to gather the community.
"This was a really visible and tragic incident," she said of the shooting. "We have a need to keep the Fuller Park community together."
Dowell, who joined other members of the City Council Black Caucus Monday in asking for Supt. Garry McCarthy's ouster, said she hoped the march would help improve police-community relations and perhaps lead to a breakthrough in stopping violence.
"What my community wants are police officers who know the community," she said, relaying other comments made at the march.
Godsel, who is new to the 9th District commander position, told those gathered that his department is still working the mass shooting case. He asked the community to band together with police to help stem the violence.
"We've come together to say 'enough is enough,'" Godsel told DNAinfo Chicago. "This is beyond a police issue. We need help from everyone."
Marchers met at Fuller Park, where police officers were handing out memorial candles and fliers containing information on the CAPS program.
With a squad car leading the way, marchers shut down Princeton Avenue carrying signs and chanting "peace up, guns down."
When it was time to speak, neighbors talked in equal measures about what police and the community can do to help stop the violence.
Michael Howard heads the Fuller Park Community Development Center. He said he went to the march Monday night to help call the community to action.
"I can't take the heartache no more," he said. "Let your neighbors know that we chose life. Let your neighbors know that we want our children to be able to play at a park without perishing."
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