'They Become Desensitized': Community Comes Together To Fight Gun Violence Days After Police Shootout, Another Violent Weekend
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Five days after a shooting and standoff where six Philadelphia police officers were shot, the city is coming together to heal. For some, that means getting involved in the fight against gun violence.
The six officers are all still recovering, but on Monday, community leaders want the city to know the shooting's impact extends far beyond the police department.
"I'm hoping we can come up with some solutions," said Operation Save Our City founder Rosalind Pichardo.
Armed with a pen and notebook, Pichardo wants to end Philadelphia's pervasive crisis of gun violence.
"This should be a team that can deal with what happens around a shooting," Pichardo said.
Pichardo started Operation Save Our City. The nonprofit is teaching people their greatest weapons are their voices.
"I'm hoping that people can understand that standing up and speaking up against gun violence is the way to go," she said. "It's just time to speak up against people who are willing and able to try to take that many lives in Philly."
And she says that means ending Philadelphia's no-snitch culture.
Monday's meeting was inside Pichardo's North Philly rowhome. It comes days after an hourslong standoff and shootout that left six officers shot.
Less than 24 hours later, five people were struck by gunfire in the Ogontz section of Philly -- just two miles away from where the officers were hit.
And just this past weekend, at least five people were shot and killed in the city between Friday and Monday morning.
"The community is so used to being traumatized they become desensitized to it. That's one of the things we're working to destigmatize," said West Philadelphia resident Michael Robertson.
Robertson says he believes that's why just 10 people showed up for the meeting.
Still, the 10 people who did show up for the Operation Save Our City meeting share the same passion in fighting for real change.
"I believe it's going to grow, it's going magnify itself with nearby neighbors, nearby cities. I really believe that. That's why I came here," Nicetown resident Olaniyan Adefumi said.
The group wants to be part of the solution.
"The community has to come together," Pichardo said.
Save Our City is now planning a rally Saturday to show support for the city's police officers.
