Archived from the Daily Oklahoman, NewsOK.com, for educational purposes, http://www.newsok.com/article/1294310/

 

Sat August 14, 2004

Shooting highlights city area's problems

By Steve Lackmeyer and Bryan Dean
Staff Writers

David Pekah was just one of 447 children pleading for an end to "gunshots at night" when they sent a petition last year asking the Oklahoma City Council to rescue their Classen-10-Penn neighborhood.

Early Wednesday, one of those gunshots ended David's life -- silencing the 9-year-old's voice forever. Police say it was the sort of gangsters the children sought protection from that sprayed David's house with gunfire, killing the boy as he slept.

Those who organized the children's petition are asking residents from across the city to join them tonight in a candlelight vigil to remember the boy -- and take a stand against the gang violence that still keeps other children living in fear.

"We want to come together and pray for the child and for our community," said Tiffany Dailey, whose daughter Sarah circulated the petition among fellow Eugene Field Elementary students in May 2003. "We need to come together and stop the violence."

Dailey said the neighborhood is mourning the murder of a boy who was about to start fourth grade at Eugene Fields.

Area in decline
David's Classen-10-Penn neighborhood was developed between 1905 and 1920 as residences for workers at nearby downtown businesses and industries. The area began to decline after World War II, when residents started to move to the suburbs. In the past decade, it has become one of the city's most crime-infested neighborhoods.

Dailey said the city council didn't ignore the children's pleas. In the last year, police have launched special crackdowns in the inner-city neighborhood, the most recent one starting in the wake of David's murder.

They also applied for a federal Weed and Seed grant that they hope will pump more than $1 million into a square-mile area in and around the neighborhood.

City officials conducted an analysis of crime statistics before applying for the grant. That analysis showed the area around Classen-10-Penn had more gun violence and a more consistent crime problem than any other area in the city.

The "Weed" portion of the program would be aimed at crime prevention. Money would be spent on additional police officers and overtime for law enforcement and other crime initiatives.

The "Seed" part of the program tries to help with underlying social issues. Money goes toward social services such as literacy programs, substance abuse counseling and youth mentoring.

The grant provides about $225,000 each year for five years.