COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – The City of Columbus has reached 140 homicides this year, officially surpassing last year’s number of 139. The latest was a deadly Tuesday night shooting on the far east side of Columbus.
In a plea to make the city safer, the Moms of Murdered Columbus Children (M.O.M.C.C) is asking the community to ban together and help reduce homicide numbers going into 2024.
It’s called ‘Operation Under Triple Digits.’ The plan is to make this a citywide collaboration, while using a data driven approach that will keep homicides under one hundred next year.
“We’re going from 2019 to current using that data, taking a deeper dive into the data of felonious assault and homicides and drilling it down to zip codes, finding our hotspots,” said founder of M.O.M.C.C, Malissa Thomas-St. Clair.
Thomas-St. Clair tells us she has already been in contact with Columbus Police and plans to partner with faith-based organizations as well as grassroot organizations to make this initiative happen. She said that using a data-driven approach gives them the opportunity to constantly analyze what they’re doing and use that to drive their decision making going forward.
“Historically, we haven’t been under triple digits in Columbus, Ohio in a very long time. If we look at 100 deaths, 100 murders, that’s unacceptable. It’s unacceptable to have over 100 families crushed for the rest of their lives,” Thomas-St. Clair added.
The goal of M.O.M.C.C is to turn pain into purpose. The group was formed by mothers who lost a child to violence, so she’s confident that with this initiative, a difference will be made in 2024.
“We definitely are taking a look at the demographics that are specifically affected by certain crimes and moving in a more intentional focus. I know it’s going to work,” said Thomas-St. Clair.
NBC4 reached out to Mayor Ginther for a comment on the rise in homicides. He sent a statement that reads quote:
“Even one homicide is one too many because each one leaves behind a broken family and friends. Last year we saw a 33% reduction in homicides due to diligent work by our police officers and a record number of community tips. The increase we are seeing this year can be attributed to the frightening spike in domestic violence – 25 this year compared to 7 in 2022. We are investing in efforts to get domestic partners out of abusive homes. Our efforts also continue to focus on prevention, intervention and enforcement. My proposed 2024 operating budget includes funding for after school programs and summer programming to keep youth engaged. We are also working toward having more police officers on the street than ever in the city’s history – we have another class graduating on Friday.”
This initiative is still in its early stages, yet she’s optimistic that it will work. Thomas-St. Clair said she’s meeting with her team on Saturday to come up with a plan and then she encourages everyone to give their pledge and keep homicides under triple digits in 2024.