Chicago Community Group Asks Gang Members To Kindly Quit Shooting Each Other Between 9am and 9pm

If we can't stop violent criminals in Chicago, maybe we can at least put them on a schedule?

Democratic alderwoman Maria Hadden shared a proposal last week by the community group Native Sons urging Chicagoans not to shoot their firearms between the hours of 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

And you thought The Purge was a fictional movie.

The proposal — called "The People's Ordinance" — encourages gangs to conduct their shootouts during the hours when children and innocent bystanders are less likely to be caught in the crossfire.

(Credit: Native Sons via Ald. Maria Hadden)

The ordinance also encourages citizens of Chicago not to wear ski masks or to associate with people who make a habit of gunning down other people.

"When those who live a certain lifestyle try to hang with 'regular' class citizens, they put everyone at risk," Tatiana Atkins, co-founder of Native Sons, told CWB Chicago.

Those who live a certain lifestyle. Some would call them violent gang bangers.

"We have to start somewhere," Atkins said. "Our goal is to approach our city's gun violence problem strategically and not all at once. Things didn’t become this way overnight, and change won't happen overnight."

Especially since "overnight" is the designated time for shooting people.

(Photo by Kyle Mazza/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

That said, there is no legislation enforcing the 12-hour ceasefire. Not yet, anyway. So for now, Atkins says she's relying on social media to spread the word.

"If people know that after a certain hour, the likelihood of them being shot by an unknown and unprovoked assailant is at a higher risk, they will be less likely to be out and about, and they may become more proactive with the supervision of their children," she said. 

Chicago Crime Is Out Of Control

The good news is shootings are actually down 10% over the past year. The bad news is crime, in general, has spiked 34% in that same time period.

Through Aug. 4, there have been 684 homicides in Chicago over the past 12 months — averaging 13 murders a week. Those numbers do not include involuntary manslaughter or justifiable homicide. And according to the ABC7 crime tracker, a whopping 43% of those homicides happened in broad daylight, between the hours of noon and 9 p.m.

So maybe the Native Sons are onto something.

Neighbors pass by a memorial for an 8 year-old girl shot and killed outside of her Portage Park apartment on Monday, Aug. 7, 2023, in Chicago. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

Last weekend, police said at least 24 people were shot, four fatally, in gun violence across the city. And ABC7 Chicago reported at least 31 shot, six killed, so far this weekend — and that was all before Sunday afternoon!

Shootings are up significantly in the Rogers Park neighborhood, and Chicago police have suggested a reunited gang war between local Gangster Disciples and Black P. Stones in Uptown is to blame.

So if someone could just call up those guys and let them know about the 9 p.m. thing, that'd be great.