PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY, Md. (DC News Now) — People in Prince George’s County are letting the community know they are tired of gun violence. The state attorney for Prince George’s County held a public saftey rally on August 12, to give the community a chance to make their voices heard.
Parents who lost their children to gun violence were among those in attendance and had the following to say.
“We are coming here today to say that we care about our young people. We don’t want to see them in jail or in prison. We want to prevent gun violence.”
Dozens of people showed up to Goodwin Park in Seat Pleasant for the “Our Streets Our Future” rally, hosted by the Prince George’s County State Attorney’s Office.
“We want to prevent crime here in our community and it takes the residents along with law enforcement working together to prevent crime.”
The rally included music, food, and activities for children
“We lack a lot of love in the community. So at the end of the day these events right here they just open up that window to let everybody know that we still here and we still love them”
Tiffani Evan lost her 8-year-old son to a stray bullet just last year in Landover, Md.
“You have so many issues that we’re dealing with mental health issues, all of that. So we just have to start encouraging each other to show love, putting God back into the household”
Tyreese Mcalister lost her 18 year old to gun violence in 2017. She believes more needs to be done to put an end to the rise in crime.
“The people who are killing I care about laws and I don’t think it’s getting us where we need to be to get access to and the easy access to guys in our community to have our children killing me. And we’ve got to do something about access to guns.”
Parents in attendance hoped that having events like these would not only bring the community together, but also send a message.
“Safety is a human rights we should all be able to feel safe in our neighborhood.”