EAST ST. LOUIS — A church pastor will host a meeting at his church Thursday evening to talk about recent crime in the city.

Ranodore Foggs, pastor of New Horizon Community Church at 3315 Summit Ave., said the event, called Community Involvement/Neighborhood Watch, is an anti-crime meeting. It starts at 6 p.m. Foggs, who is also a retired Illinois State Police captain and a former East St. Louis police chief, will lead the discussion.

"I think that public safety has to become the No. 1 priority to ensure that citizens feel safe living in East St. Louis and visitors feel comfortable coming to East St. Louis," Foggs said.

He said he wants to see as many people as possible come out because there will be plenty of discussion on the recent crimes, including the armed robbery during Sunday evening services at Ira Grove Baptist Church at 1701 Belmont. Also, information will be shared pertaining to crime and Illinois law updates for 2013.

"We're also going to do a review of the incident at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Conn.," Foggs said.

Contact reporter Carolyn P. Smith at 618-239-2503.