Special Reports

City's Violence Interrupters Help Prevent Murders

CeaseFire Among Groups That Help Stop Gun Violence

CHICAGO (CBS) ― The killing of innocent victims by errant gunfire is a growing, tragic problem in Chicago. Images of makeshift memorials and anti-violence marches are common, but just who is solving the problem? CBS 2's Rob Johnson reports on "violence interrupters" and the murders they help prevent.

Ten-year-old Arthur "A.J." Jones is the innocent face of gang violence. After school on Oct. 17, on his way to buy candy at a convenience store, A.J. was shot dead by errant gunfire in a grassy median in the middle of 55th Street, a known boundary between rival gangs.

After the memorials all that was left was a neighborhood in chaos. That's when Chris White and the violence interrupters from the group Ceasefire stepped in.

"We were able to reach out to the two different communities and say look, we lost one life already," White said.

Many, like Chris, are ex-gang members themselves and they know the streets and walk them every day.

"We're dealing with these situations on the front end, we try to catch it before there's a shooting," White said.

Last summer 28-year-old Tito learned that rival gang members on the West Side were beating up his youngest sister. He wanted revenge but moments before he was ready to kill, the violence interrupters stepped in.

"I was just going to go over there and shoot one of 'em," Tito said. "I was going to jump out of the car make sure I get the right person."

After picking up two guns, and driving to a nearby gas station, Tito was stopped by CeaseFire.

"He just told me it's not worth it," Tito said. "It's not worth losing the rest of my life in prison."

Though CeaseFire recently lost its state funding due to alleged financial inconsistencies, it's hard to deny the results. According to statistics from the University of Illinois-Chicago, this year alone in Roseland, shootings are down 34 percent; in North Lawndale, down 33 percent; and there were no homicides at all in West Englewood.

Acting police Superintendent Dana Starks believes CeaseFire deserves some of the credit for that downward trend.

"Any time you have an organization or a group that has hands on with those individuals who are actually perpetrating the violence, that's important," Starks said.

Then there's the case of another man, who we'll call "Paul."

"I was going to be shooting at one of them," he said. "I had my vest on."

On parole for a gun and drug conviction, Paul was ready to settle a score for one nephew who was beat up and another whose car was shot.

"You know I could have gotten killed, somebody would have gotten seriously hurt," Paul said.

White, the violence interrupter, spotted Paul, bulked up with that bulletproof vest on, and talked him out of what he was about to do.

"Hey man you're still on parole why didn't you call me?" White said to Paul. "I have a relationship with those guys let me go holler at them."

"Had he not shown up would have messed with gunfire and somebody would have gotten hurt," Paul said.

While CeaseFire's financial situation is still up in the air, a number of state lawmakers have appealed to the governor to restore its funding. That has yet to happen.

Perhaps one of the most surprising things about the men we interviewed: while most people think gun violence would have been spurred by gang turf wars or drug disputes, in those two cases it was protecting family members. They were ready to give their lives, but fortunately they didn't have to.

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