PETERSBURG, Va. (WRIC) — It’s been a deadly month in Petersburg, and residents are fed up.
Monday night, the community held a “unity march” to call for an end to the violence. The group marched through neighborhoods talking with neighbors and ended at an apartment complex where just recently one man was gunned down in front of his 3 year old child.
More than a dozen people gathered to walk the streets of Petersburg to show their neighbors that violence will not win.
“It don’t just affect one family or this family, it affects everybody. Its not in just this area bur city wide,” said Annette Reed, who attended the march.
In September alone there have been seven deaths due to violence. In several of those cases no one has been arrested yet.
“It may be this area today, but it may be somewhere else in the city tomorrow,” said Reed.
The group ended their march at Pecan Acres Apartments where 2 of this months shootings have happened.
They discussed with each other things they can do to keep everyone safe.
The group says they want city officials to help keep the city safe, but they are going to start the process on their own.
“We cant wait on the city we cant wait on the officials to do this for us, this is our home this is our place we got to take it back,” said Tawanda Walker, who helped organize the walk.
Organizers say not only do they want to help stop the violence, but they also want to help those affected by the violence.
“We want to be that support system for the cities, not just Petersburg,” said Pastor George Wilkerson, who also helped organize the march.
Organizers say more marches and rallies are planned in the coming weeks. Police continue to investigate the unsolved crimes.
