Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times
Top officials with the Chicago Police Department joined residents in North Lawndale Friday for a rally and peace walk just days after two mass shootings, minutes apart, shook the West Side neighborhood.
“We want to send a message that violent offenders will not be tolerated in this neighborhood and throughout Chicago,” Police Supt. David Brown told reporters at the rally.
“We want to put our foot down, place our flag in this post and say the community and the police department are working together. We’re coming together for peace.”
Faith leaders, elected officials and activists gathered at Douglas Boulevard and Christiana Avenue, where five people were shot Wednesday evening. Damarion Benson, 15, among those wounded in the attack, died later at Stroger Hospital.