CLEVELAND — The fallout from another violent weekend in Cleveland has one mother worried about letting her children play outside.
On Sunday, two men were shot and killed on East 67th Street near Saint Clair Avenue.
Early Monday, there was another shooting, critically injuring a woman on East 52nd Street.
Ten-year-old Demetrius, who’s a fourth-grader, is worried about gunfire.
“I’ve got my little siblings right here, something could have happened to them," Demetrius said.
Demetrius and his 18-year-old brother, Samuel, look out for their little sister.
Samuel heard gunshots overnight, then police sirens just minutes later.
“Just got up and asked if everyone was okay,” Samuel said.
“I’m not even going to lie, I was under the cover,” Demetrius said.
A 49-year-old woman was hit. Police won’t release her name or her condition.
But, even hours after the shooting, their mom was yelling for them all to stay inside.
“No kid should have to worry about coming outside if that’s going to be their last time to be outside to play,” Samantha said.
There have been at least 138 homicides so far this year in Cleveland. At this time last year, there were 118.
"To me, it’s shocking because I know what impact it’s having on our neighborhoods,” Councilman Mike Polensek said.
Polensenk chairs the council's public safety committee.
“The admin has got to come up with a plan to hire police officers,” Polensek said.
He says you can’t manage the violence if you don’t have police officers on the streets.
“You prevent crime from happening. That’s what it’s all about. That’s what the suburbs put an emphasis on, but we don’t,” Polensek said. News 5 Investigators asked Samantha what her message would be to city leaders.
“I think we need more police, and I think we need more programs for kids after school near home,” Samantha said.
“We’ve passed millions of dollars for violence prevention programs. The question is — they’re not working — the question is how long will it take?” Polensek said.
Polensek is troubled to hear what a 10-year-old boy is afraid of but says he’s heard similar fears from families in other Cleveland neighborhoods.
“I’m always worried about gunfire,” Samantha said.
For Demetrius and Samuel, a childhood is lost.
“In reality I didn’t think life was going to be like this — coming as an adult, I didn’t think it was shootings and drugs and stuff like that,” Demetrius said.
