Columbus mothers honor children lost to violence

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – The sisterhood of the Mothers of Murdered Columbus Children gathered at the Rich Street Bridge to lock in their love for their children forever.

On Saturday, nine mothers added locks to the bridge in honor of children they lost to violence in Columbus.

For the fourth time, Mothers of Murdered Columbus Children have gathered at the bridge for the Locks of Love ceremony, which was first held last summer.

Each mother said their child’s name and the day they were killed before “locking and loading” a mother’s love, as they said.

Malissa Thomas-St. Clair is the founder of the group. Her son was killed in 2013. She said the locks will last forever even as they rust and age.

“If you think about the analogy of a person, we are not golden all the time,” Thomas-St. Clair said. “But we come out of the womb all shiny and new, we come out of the womb untainted and through the world, we weather, but it doesn’t mean we lose the love of a mother.”

So far this year in Columbus, there have been 64 homicides. The women said one is too many.