PEORIA, Ill. – For Jim Garner, a family connection led him to join more than 100 men Monday morning on the campus of Peoria Manual High School.
“I had a granddaughter that went to Manual, so I just want to support the high school and the community,” Garner said.
Garner and the other men came to clap and cheer on the Rams as they made their way to Manual to start a brand new school week.
It was part of an effort by Peoria Police Chief Eric Echevarria, where he urged the men of the community to step up and show support for students and the youth of Peoria, in the wake of a pair of shooting incidents near the school last week.
On Wednesday, a 15-year-old girl was injured when she was grazed by a bullet near the school, as students were leaving for early dismissal. Police do not believe she was the intended target of the gunfire. Then on Friday, a 15-year-old boy was arrested after he allegedly shot at the Manual school building.
Echevarria made the call to action on Sunday night, saying it was something he was thinking about all weekend. He made a prior statement on Saturday, in which he stated that safety was the department’s highest priority. Echevarria followed that up in his call to action on Sunday, by saying the police department cannot do it alone.
Echevarria addressed the men in attendance before the students arrived. He told them the turnout left him feeling “humbled and blessed,” and told them that their presence manners, because it shows strength and love for their community.
“We need to take a first step somewhere, and the call was for the men to come on out,” Echevarria said. “Women were welcome, but I was challenging the men.”
Echevarria says the reason for calling out men is because their presence in a child’s life helps reduce crime. He says 1 in 4 children grow up without a father in the home, with those children twice as likely to be jailed before the age of 30. Echevarria added that the issue is personal to him, because he has a child in middle school.
Echevarria also called out those who would criticize the effort, characterizing those who “sit behind keyboards and call it a stunt.” He says “there is nothing fake about protecting children,” and says those who think it’s a stunt are “missing the point or simply don’t care.”
To motivate the men before students arrived, Echevarria led a chant of “Stand Up, Show Up, Be There.”
Jeremy Sargent was another one of the men who answered Echevarria’s call, saying he heard the message from a pastor at church.
“We hope it brings about change. We hope this morning gives them some hope and inspiration to see all of us out here today and showing that we’re standing behind them and supporting them,” Sargent said.
Numerous community leaders were in attendance to greet the students Monday morning; including Peoria City Council members, religious leaders, Bradley athletic director Chris Reynolds, and Bradley men’s basketball coach Brian Wardle with players from the team.
Brian Arevalo is a sophomore at Manual, and says everyone was “scared and sad” because of the shooting incidents. But he says the community support means a lot.
“It means that we’re protected by the community and a lot of people care about us,” Arevalo said.
Peoria Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Sharon Desmoulin-Kherat says she received a call from Echevarria Sunday night about his plans and encouraged him to go forward with it. After that, Kherat says she sent out emails and heard back from around 15 men interested in participating.
She says she was encouraged by Monday morning’s turnout, and it shows that the community is behind its students.
“All these people came out at 6:30 just to cheer you on, and say ‘Hey, we’re here for you, keep plugging away,’” Kherat said.
Echevarria says he wants the show of support to happen, not just at Manual, but at every school in Peoria. And he’s urging men to show up everyday, and make Monday’s efforts not a one-time thing.
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