'They fear for their lives': Augusta gun violence vigil remembers victims, details impact

Those strolling down the Augusta Riverwalk on Saturday morning may have come across an orange-themed get-together at St. Peter's Church. While this may seem bright and shiny, those who looked closer would find tangerine attire that read "End Gun Violence."

More than a dozen individuals and families turned out for the "Wear Orange Community Outreach Event" organized by Augusta's chapter of Moms Demand Action.

The campaign stems from the 2013 shooting death of 15-year-old Hadiya Pendleton in Chicago. Since beginning in 2015, "Wear Orange" has given communities across the nation a chance to reflect on gun violence during the first weekend of June.

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For Augusta's part, it gave locals a chance to share their thoughts and stories in between songs of remembrance. Kevin de l'Aigle, an Augusta native who lived in New York City before returning home, recalled his experience during a Christmas concert at a New York church in 2020 when a gunman fired several rounds into the air.

"As the shots kept popping and echoing through the cathedral, and until the man was subdued by the NYPD, I helped the frantic people find the side exit and get out the back of the cathedral and away from this terrifying scene," he said. "I'll never forget the look of sheer terror in the people's eyes that day."

Clara Taylor lost her son in 2006 and her daughter in 2020 to gun violence. Taylor described how it seems like gun violence has only increased and how important it is to come together to address the issues surrounding young people.

"It cannot be about five or 10 people working together trying to make things better," Taylor said. "It's going to take the whole community to come together as one to get with the young people and educate them. A lot of them are getting out of school too early, getting into the streets and getting to be part of gangs. They don't see the caution of getting a gun in their hands."

Ellie Benson of Moms Demand Action echoed those thoughts in regards to what can be done about this issue on the local end.

"Awareness and education is absolutely one of the best ways we can do something actively in our community, even so far as safe gun storage," Benson said. "But also, the kids in Augusta are aware. They have active shooter drills. They fear for their lives a lot of times. It's not something that they don't know about and I see them out in the community trying to get adults to listen to them to make some change. So I think they push us more."