ST. LOUIS – When Tina Hardin heard the news of a Sunday morning shooting that left 26-year-old Brittany Ritchie dead, all she could do was cry.
“My heart goes out to the families,” she said. “I was crying all day.”
Hardin is known as the ‘Block Captain’ along Garrison Avenue in the Jeff-Vander-Lou neighborhood in north city. She’s all too familiar with the violence in the area, which she said is starting to slow down.
“It could’ve been prevented,” Hardin told Fox 2 on Monday.
According to St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department Sgt. Charles Wall, 28-year-old Marissa Lewis shot and killed 26-year-old Brittany Ritchie. Both of whom, according to Hardin, are mothers.
“I always see the kids out playing together and I can’t imagine them coming out without their mom,” she said.
Hardin throws block parties and donates coats and food to neighbors in need. She is making an effort to turn the neighborhood around.
“We need to stop hurting one another,” she said. “We need to come together.”
Lewis is being charged with first-degree murder and is being held without bond.
