Violence haunts Cherry Hill block

Last month, Munson said, her 6-year-old declared that he wanted to be a Blood. She tested her son's knowledge and asked him to spell the word and give its meaning. He was silent.

"All he knows is there are kids around here wearing red shirts and red scarfs, and he wants to be like them," she said. "I tried to explain to him the violence out here. I said, `Mommy can't let anything happen to you.' I knew then, it was time to move."

But those fighting to save Cherry Hill say while the recent violence is tragic and discouraging, they believe that the neighborhood will improve.

"Any neighborhood that gets involved with preventing crime becomes a place where crime will occur from other neighborhoods," said Cathy McClain, executive director of the Cherry Hill Trust, a nonprofit that works in the community. "I don't think there is any magic formula, but we need to stay the course. We need to be diligent about continuing to work with the police and to protect the children, because they are our most precious resource."

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Sun reporter Julie Bykowicz contributed to this article.