SAN ANTONIO – Community leaders on the East Side are working to make a safe zone for children this Halloween.
They have organized a Halloween block party. The event is being put on to keep kids safe and promote community policing, all while getting to know your neighbors.
"Put the guns down. Families are tired of it, just sick of it. You want your child to go out and play and be safe, but we send our kids out not knowing if they’re going to come home," said Linda Bryant, who's lived on the East Side for 21 years.
The block party invite comes just a week after two children, ages 7 and 3, were hurt during a gang-related gun battle.
"These kids here are the future of our community. We have to protect them. We have to all be in the same boat,” District 2 Councilman William Cruz Shaw said. “It's sad that I've been in office 100 days or so and we have to see so much gun violence, especially when it involves our children.”
The block party will also give the community a chance to meet the same officers that patrol their streets.
"Some people will shy away from officers, but they’re here to protect and serve. And the closer that we are to them, the safer we will be and the more comfortable we'll be when they’re present," Bryant said.
Shaw also had a message for anyone thinking about stirring up trouble.
"You may have some issues with somebody else, but not on Sunday. On Sunday, it's for our children," Shaw said.
The block party is open to the public and will include food, fun, music, entertainment and a costume contest. It will be held from 4-7 p.m. Sunday at the New Braunfels corridor from Burnett to Dawson.
