KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Learning head slaps and groin strikes, women desperate for protection tips packed a gym in the Waldo neighborhood Tuesday night.
Inside Christ the King’s gymnasium, people, most of them women, crowded the bleachers. It was parent’s night. However, all minds seemed focused on safety.
“Certainly in the past month, everyday when I come home absolutely I think about my personal safety,” said Brianna Mishler, a Waldo resident.
Since September, four women have been raped inside their homes in the neighborhood. Police believe the crimes may be connected. Detectives have a sketch, but they have no suspect in custody.
So, Waldo residents like Brianna Mishler carry concern every time they go home.
“It’s a little scary,” Mishler said.
Those concerns led ‘Christ the King’ administrators to action.
“Most of the recent crimes have happened right here in our neighborhood and a lot of our families have been personally affected by those,” said Jennifer Scanlon-Smith, principal of Christ the King School.
Scanlon-Smith’s school asked police officers to demonstrate self-defense techniques and teach women safety the same way it’s taught to recruits at the academy.
“It’s about putting yourself in good situations,” said Sergeant Ty Grant. “There’s a lot of things (people) can do, if they find themselves in those bad situations, to escape.”
“It’s definitely heightened my sense of awareness,” Mishler said.
It also eases some concern.
“I think it’s very empowering,” Scanlon-Smith said. “I think that women especially we need to empower our young ladies to be strong and stand up for themselves and not let a criminal like this over take us.”
