Pastor Camped Out On Rooftop Witnesses Crime In Progress
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A South Side pastor has been camping out on the roof of a motel for the past three months to help stop violence in the community.
But as CBS 2's Kris Habermehl reports, on Thursday the rooftop perch gave Rev. Corey Brooks of New Beginnings Church of a crime in progress.
Brooks is camped out on the roof of the shuttered Super Motel, 6625 S. King Dr. He wants to see it turned into a community center.
On Thursday night, an 18-year-old boy with whom the pastor was acquainted was a couple of blocks north of the motel, in the 6400 block of King Drive, when he was shot and wounded in the latest act of apparently random violence in the West Woodlawn neighborhood.
Brooks tweeted extensively about the shooting after he saw police and fire vehicles racing to the scene.
"There was a shooting!!!! 1 block down the street.... Pray they are still ALIVE!" he tweeted.
A couple of hours later, Brooks came down from the roof to see the young man in the hospital;.
"Please pray! This young man is still alive he has been shot n the head but the doctors have stabilized him. We need Projecthood.org," he tweeted.
Upon returning, Brooks urged people to pray for the victim, and to donate to his effort Brooks' effort to revive the old motel for a new purpose – called Project HOOD, short for Helping Others Obtain Destiny.
"I'm back in the tent, praying and going to bed. Please give to http://projecthood.org so we can help stop this madness!!! Thank you!" Brooks tweeted.
On Friday morning, Brooks emphasized that action needs to be taken.
"It's really sad that more is not being done to stop these shootings," he tweeted. "But as I always say 'we can't wait on anyone to stop it for us.'"
Since Brooks went up on the roof, he has encountered more than just cold weather. On New Year's Eve, he said there was so much gunfire that he took cover under his futon.
But he has also received extensive donations and kudos. In January, he was joined on the roof by Gov. Pat Quinn to honor the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Brooks says he will stay on top of the motel until he raises $450,000 for the community center.
