Detroit Churches Fight Rising Violence With 'Thou Shalt Not Kill' Message on Posters, Banners
Fatal shootings have prompted church leaders in Detroit, Mich., to come together and try to fight the incidents of deadly violence by reminding the community of the Sixth Commandment with "Thou Shalt Not Kill" posters and banners.
"We all have to do what we can do, and right now we don't have a respect in our communities for life; we don't have a respect for many things," a local Christian minister, Ovella Andreas, tells CBS News, of the use of posters and banners. "But we still have to create a standard to hopefully have a consciousness about God…. because even our people have become apathetic."
On Friday, police found the body of a man in a trash can in an alley behind a bar on Woodward near Parkhurst, north of McNichols, Detroit Free Press reported. Police are investigating the case.
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Also on Friday, authorities removed three bodies from a home near Joy Road and I-96. They found two men and a woman shot dead, possibly in home invasion and robbery attempt.
Police are also investigating a shooting on the city's northeast side that left three people dead at a barbershop near Keystone Street on Thursday. The barbershop is known for gambling, and a dice game was taking place when the gunfire broke out, according to police.
After the barbershop shooting, a man police identified as a "person of interest" in the case tried to assault a federal officer. He is facing federal charges.
Violent incidents prompted local Christian leaders to hold an emergency meeting at Greater New Tried Stone Baptist Church on Thursday.
"Our goal now is to infiltrate and saturate our communities with this commandment, via buses, via billboards," Andreas said. "The churches have posters – we'll put them into the businesses in the area."
Andreas also said Christian leaders see the escalating violence as an emergency. "This is a crisis, and we have to come together now to do what we can," she said. "I truly know if we do what we can, God will do what we cannot; but we're not doing all that we can."
Local church leaders had earlier called for the city to designate every 22nd day of the month as "Stop the Violence Day."
Meanwhile, two Bibles worth $1,200 have been stolen from St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Battle Creek, Free Press reported. Another large Bible worth about $200 is reportedly missing from the chapel at the Battle Creek Family YMCA.
