Chicago’s most notorious gangs placed their differences aside to make a difference in their community.
Incidents of drastic gun violence in the city had several gang members fed up. The two rivals who live two blocks from each other fought over street territory for years but decided to call a truce in October after massive shootings.
Sherman Scullarck, a gang affiliate, said both rivals wanted a place for their children to peacefully play in the North Pullman area.
“It’s peace going on now,” Scullarck told CBS Chicago. “They really could play—they don’t need to worry about anything.”
After going eight months without gunfire, gang members teamed up with volunteers on Friday to help construct the park on 104th street.
Detective Williams helped bring both rival gangs together to Chicago CRED which stands for Creating Real Economic Destiny. She told the news station, “Several young men have been shot (and) some kill over a gang war that none of them even knew what they were fighting about.”
When Williams sat gang members down she said neither party “didn’t ask for anything for themselves. They said ‘our kids have no place to play. Can you help us build a playground?'”
The detective said the peace has been “wonderful” and hopes that other gangs will follow their lead.
Scullark added, “You get to hang out, sit on the porch and not have to feel somebody’s jumping out of the car and start shooting… The kids can have somewhere to play peacefully and both sides can come and enjoy themselves.”
Authorities are in the midst of connecting with young men on the west and south side of Chicago who are more prone to gun violence.
